WEST END (KDKA) – Two firefighters were sent to UPMC Mercy Hospital Tuesday morning after being injured while battling a blaze in the West End.

They were injured when the chimney of a Marena Street home collapsed during attempts to put out the fire.

KDKA-TV’s Heather Abraham spoke with the homeowners, who have been renting out the house for the past few years.

Marsha King said they had just signed new tenants.

“It’s a terrible loss and there’s a family that was promised a house and now they can’t move,” King said.

Neighbors in the house next door were also forced to evacuate. There was concern that the fire might spread, given the close proximity of the homes.

Fire Chief Michael Marks said the two injured firefighters were on the roof of the neighboring home, trying to extinguish the flames and ventilate the fire, when the chimney came crashing down.

“We believe the aerial truck was being repositioned and it bumped into the chimney and tipped over,” Chief Marks said.

Chief of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire, Daryl Jones, said one firefighter had been released from the hospital around 10 a.m.

However, the other firefighter was still being treated at Mercy Hospital for an arm injury.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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