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Woman Dies In 3-Alarm East Hills Fire

EAST HILLS (KDKA)- Firefighters are working to determine the cause of an East Hills fire that left one woman dead early Friday morning.

According to officials at the scene, the fire started around 1:50 a.m. at a home in the 8300-block of Bricelyn Street.

When crews got on scene, there were reports of people being trapped in the home.

KDKA's Christine D'Antonio Reports:

"A person called 911, but could not communicate what was going on," said Pittsburgh Police Spokeswoman Sonya Toler. "Our officers were dispatched, noticed the basement was on fire, notified the fire department and tried to get into the home and could not."

Firefighters found a woman dead on the second floor of the home. Family members identified the woman as Rose Marie Pressley. They also said today was her birthday.

Crews initially looked for her husband, but it was later determined that he had previously been admitted to a local hospital for an unrelated issue.

The house suffered severe damage and the first floor collapsed. A firefighter fell through the floor as the first floor collapsed, but he was able to get out and resumed fighting the blaze.

Firefighters were evacuated from the building when the flames started to spark back up.

Neighbors were evacuated, but they are all safe.

Arson investigators have been called to the scene.

Today's fire comes almost 20 years to the day that three Pittsburgh firefighters died while battling a fire on the same street.

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