Crews battle a fire burning through a home in East McKeesport
The United fire chief told KDKA no one was hurt in a house fire in East McKeesport Thursday morning, but one person is displaced as flames tore the home apart.
Debbie Spigelski was emotional after watching the home next door go up in flames.
"This is like my worst nightmare," Spigelski said. "I was like instantly hyperventilating and I just want to get my cats."
It was just before 7 a.m. on Hilda Avenue by Route 30, and she was in bed.
"I heard like a rumble, and I was thinking what is that noise? It's not garbage day," Spigelski said.
She looked outside and saw the damage.
"I see orange and I freaked out. I grab my phone, ran downstairs, looked out the side window and I saw flames coming out the neighbor's roof," Spigelski said.
She called 911 and went into flight mode, as her neighbor on the other side, Josh Hobaugh, feared the worst.
"The first thing I thought of was, is he home?" Hobaugh said.
Chief Anthony Swidorsky said thankfully, the one person who lived there was out and accounted for, but they had another concern.
"We had fire coming from this side over onto this house next door. Our main focus was to worry about keeping that from catching on fire," Swidorsky said.
That house was Spigelski's.
"I'm like, oh my God, her roof goes up, my house is right there, then mine will be next," Hobaugh said.
Swidorsky said they prevented the fire from spreading and got it under control in about an hour, but faced challenges with the frigid weather.
"When we have hose lines running, it's very quick for those to freeze on us, so we've just got to keep making sure water is flowing," Swidorsky said.
As for Spigelski, she said some smoke did get inside her home, but overall, it's okay.
She and her neighbors are fortunate as their houses are close together. However, this experience is now making Hobaugh start to think about selling.
"This was kind of a wakeup call," Hobaugh said.
The Allegheny County Fire Marshal is investigating a cause.
