Fire forces dozens of senior citizens from North Braddock apartment building
NORTH BRADDOCK, Pa. (KDKA) - More than three dozen senior citizens living at Shady Park Place in North Braddock evacuated after a fire Friday.
All residents, mostly in their 70s, 80s and 90s, will be displaced for the holiday weekend. The Red Cross is working to find a place for them to stay until authorities determine it's safe to go back inside.
A fire broke out inside an apartment on the third floor. Donald Folks, who lives inside that unit, described it as an explosion inside his kitchen.
"It scared the heck out of me. So much it shook me," Folks said.
Fire investigators have not yet released an official cause behind the fire yet, but were inside the building most of the afternoon investigating.
The electricity is out in the entire building, which is why, besides the lingering smell of smoke and water damage, residents aren't allowed back inside.
"They kept saying 'get out' but I knew when I opened that door, I couldn't get out. Not with all that smoke," said resident Liz Johnson.
The Salvation Army and Red Cross were there to help those in need, including providing a bus with A/C for people to sit on to get out of the heat.
"Luckily, I got my phone. He said everything else is destroyed, my clothes," Folks said.
A volunteer said they're now working to find a shelter for residents to go to for the weekend.
"Generally if it's 10 or under families, we put them in a hotel. If it's more than that, we open up a shelter. Right now, it's looking, simply because it's a holiday weekend and it may be difficult to get hotel rooms, we may have to put them all in a shelter anyways," said Red Cross volunteer Paula Bauerle.
Red Cross said it ended up coordinating hotel accommodations for 13 residents who needed "immediate assistance."
There's no word yet on exactly how soon residents will be able to go back inside. A maintenance worker said the building has to be inspected to more times and insurance has to get involved.
