Over long holiday weekend, dozens of Pittsburgh-area families lose homes in fires
By: Lauren Linder/KDKA-TV
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Over the long holiday weekend, dozens of families lost their homes, and even their loved ones, in a historic rise of fires across Pennsylvania.
Officials responded and want to make sure you're prepared for the worst.
Three homes in the Pittsburgh area went through tragedies as fires destroyed their homes and killed some of the residents inside. One of two on Christmas Eve took place in Derry Township, where an elderly woman died, and Fayette County lost an 11-year-old boy in a fire on Tuesday.
"Christmas is for joy, not for something like this," Bradenville Fire Chief Mark Piantine said on Christmas Eve at the scene of the Derry Township fire. "It's going to play on some people's minds for a while."
According to the American Red Cross, crews responded to more than 60 house fires across 61 counties in Pennsylvania from Dec. 22 to Dec. 27. This was a 300 percent increase from the 16 fires they responded to during the same time period in 2021.
"They were responding around the clock through the holidays, often leaving their family and their celebrations at home, to respond to help their community members and neighbors in need," said Lisa Landis, who works for the American Red Cross Greater Pennsylvania Region.
Landis said they spent much time providing shelter, clothing, and food to those impacted and will continue to offer them mental health, spiritual care, and assistance finding new housing.
She urges families to take precautions before it's too late.
"You can have as little as two minutes in the event of a home fire to escape safely, and having working smoke alarms decreases your risk of death or injury by as much as 50 percent," Landis said.
Have those smoke alarms, test them regularly, make a fire escape plan and educate your children.
"Let the children hear what that smoke alarm sounds like, so when it does go off, if the worst were to occur, they are familiar with that sound and they know how to get out of the home safely," Landis said.
In December, at least 12 people died in eight fires in the Pittsburgh region.
