Fire Destroys North Side Home
NORTH SIDE (KDKA) -Four people were able to escape a fire on the North Side early Tuesday morning, but their home was destroyed.
The fire broke out in a row house on Overlook Street around 4:30 a.m.
Brothers, Mike and Robert Arnold lived in the home with their mother and stepfather.
Their mother heard a pop. Shortly after the noise, flames erupted in the home.
When Mike, 34, realized the house was on fire, he knew he would be able to get out safely. However, he wasn't leaving without his younger brother.
"He normally plays jokes on me, banging on my door trying to get me up for whatever reason," 30-year-old Robert Arnold said.
Today, Mike wasn't joking around. He endured the thick smoke in the hallway because he knew he had to get to his little brother.
"He said 'Bro, get up. I think the house is on fire.' I opened up my door and got hit in the face with black and grey smoke," Robert said. "I heard his voice, so I followed his voice and came outside. I had nothing on but shorts and a sweatshirt."
Mike and Robert made it outside with their mother and stepfather.
"My mom, she's a wreck. You know, she's been here for eight years in this house. Her dogs are gone and everything she's every owned, that's gone as well," Robert said.
The brothers don't know where to go from here, but wherever they go, they'll go together.
Robert's 6-year-old daughter's Christmas gifts were also destroyed in the fire.
The family will be staying with relatives for the next couple of days.
The Red Cross is helping out the family and the house was insured.
At this time, the cause of the fire is unknown.
Firefighters were able to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading to neighboring homes.
