13 Homes Affected In 4-Alarm Mount Oliver Fire
MOUNT OLIVER (KDKA) – About 100 firefighters were called to a quick moving four-alarm fire in Mount Oliver Sunday morning.
According to officials at the scene, the fire broke out in the 100-block of Ormsby Avenue around 10 a.m.
As many as 13 homes are believed to have been damaged in the fire. Three of those are believed to be a total loss.
When firefighters arrived at the scene, heavy smoke was filling the street.
Neighbors told KDKA-TV's Christine D'Antonio that cars in front of a home also caught on fire and they heard explosions.
Fire victim Shaun Gloeckl sat and watched his house burn.
"I was at work they called me and told me that the house was on fire," Gloeckl said. "I guess one of the neighbors caught (and it) caught ours and it caught the one beside it. We just lost everything. I don't even know what to say."
Jeff Melzer lives on the third floor of 193 Ormsby. He says his house was the first to catch on fire.
"I was in a dead sleep," Melzer said, "I don't even know how I got up. If I didn't wake up, my dad and me would've been dead."
Melzer says he screamed to wake up his father. They ran out of the house to safety and watched as cars in front of the homes caught on fire and electrical wires fell.
"The Jeep, I heard that explode when we were across the street," he said. "The electric lines started sparking, exploding. Other homes started catching fire flames started flying across the street."
A 69-year-old woman was taken to UPMC Mercy Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. The woman's son said she is expected to be okay.
A firefighter was also taken to UPMC Mercy Hospital to be treated for heat exhaustion.
Multiple fire crews from Mount Oliver, Castle Shannon, Mount Lebanon and the City of Pittsburgh responded to the blaze.
At least one dog is believed to have died in the fire.
Lynne Hayes-Freeland reports:
The Red Cross says it's assisting 39 adults and nine children affected by the massive fire.
"We're here just to comfort them, to pray with them," said Bishop Otis Carswell of Potter's House Church. "To be a shoulder to lean on, to cry on and to offer them some dry space."
About 190 people are also without power in the area.
No other details have been released at this time.
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