United VFR Responds to Early Morning House Fire

United VFR was alerted on Friday, January 29th, 2010 for a residential structure fire in East McKeesport.  Here is the report from UVFR.org:

Early in the morning on January 29, 2010 UVFR stations 135 and 287 along with Pitcairn RIT 230 and Wilmerding station 306 were alerted to the 700 block of Fifth Avenue in East McKeesport for the report of a possible structure fire.

Initals calls thought that the smoke was possibly caused by a wood burner, however East McKeesport PD quickly arrived on scene and confirmed a working fire.

Crews arrived to find a 1 and 1/2 story residence with fire showing on the first floor. Due to the lay out of the home, intial crews had difficulty finding the seat of the fire. Because of the cold weather, FDNV stations 213 and 214 and Monroeville station 193 were added for manpower.

The fire was brought under control in approximately 2 hours and is under investigation by the Allegheny County Fire Marshall.

For more information and pictures visit uvfr.org

Suspicious Fire in Elizabeth Borough – Update 8/11/2009

Update 8/11/09 – Per Elizabeth VFC’s website, the Fire Marshal deemed this fire as accidental, and confirmed that nothing was thrown onto the porch.

Early on Wednesday morning, August 5th,  Allegheny County 911 received a call from a homeowner stating someone threw something onto their back porch and their house was on fire.

Elizabeth Borough Station 139 and their first alarm were alerted for the house on South 3rd Avenue, in the Walker Heights section of Elizabeth.  Initial crews on scene reported a working fire.  Crews stretched a 2 1/2″ handline to the rear of the structure and another crew advanced through the front door.  There was a nice knockdown and the initial crews did a great job of containment.

Read more

Pictures And Audio From Monroeville House Fire

Around 5:00am on Sunday, October 26th, Monroeville companies 4,5,1 and Command 32 were alerted for a fully involved house fire in the 2300 Block of Pitcairn Road. The Fire was found to be caused by an overloaded electrical system and an electric heater, officials said. Here Are some pictures from the fire.

Click on Link for Audio From the Call www.mvfc4.org

Read more

Fire destroys E. Franklin house

By Mitch Fryer
LEADER TIMES

EAST FRANKLIN — The roof on a 1 1/2-story older brick house at 215 Brickyard Road near Cowansville had collapsed by the time firefighters arrived at the blaze.

The fire was reported by neighbors shortly before 8:30 a.m Monday.

Fire crews from East Franklin, Applewold, West Kittanning and Worthington-West Franklin were called to the fire.

“The roof was already burned off of it,” said Tim Schall, East Franklin Fire Department captain. “It was unsafe going in. We surrounded it and drowned it.”

Schall said the cause has not been determined. It was a total loss for the family, he said.

The owners of the home, Brad and Dawn Toy, have lived there for a year and are expecting their first child in four months.

The Toys were both at work when news of the fire reached them.

They rushed home along with their coworkers and family members to find nothing left of their home and possessions except for four walls.

“There was nothing for us to save,” said East Franklin firefighter Chad Hill who lives in the area and was one of the first to arrive. “It was burning for a long time.”

Relatives gathered outside of the burned house to make plans to provide clothes and a place for the couple to stay.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/leadertimes/s_590863.html