Donora fire damages 4 homes
DONORA, Pa. (KDKA) — A fire damaged four homes in Donora on Wednesday.
Multiple crews were called to the blaze on Thompson Avenue in Donora just before 4 p.m. One of the three homes that caught on fire is a total loss. At the other two damaged houses, no one was home and nobody lived in the other. The heat of the flames damaged a fourth home across the street.
"In this Mon Valley, houses were built right up against each other," said Casey Perrotta, a Donora Borough councilman and firefighter. "The exposures are very hard to control at times."
There were no injuries, though a dog and a cat died in the fire.
Fire officials said when they arrived at the scene, one of the homes was fully engulfed by flames. Neighbor Alexis McCollum said that the house burned down in about five minutes.
Emily Summers was babysitting her nephews and niece, ages 7, 5 and 2, when she saw the flames. That's why she grabbed the kids and ran. They got out safely.
"We lived here for six years. Everything, everything is gone," Kaitlyn Summers said.
"This family is really good people," McCollum said. "If anybody could give them some support that they need — clothes, food, anything, diapers for their kids — it would be greatly appreciated."
The state fire marshal is investigating. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time.
"People need to make sure they have working smoke detectors inside their house," Perrotta said. "We do not know if there were smoke detectors in this house at this time."
Late on Wednesday, a bulldozer knocked down the home that was a total loss.
