Mom, Daughter Killed In Shenango Township Fire, 2 Others Injured
SHENANGO TOWNSHIP (KDKA) - A mother and her young daughter were killed in an early Tuesday morning fire in Lawrence County.
According to officials at the scene, the fire started around 3 a.m. at a wood-framed home in the 900-block of Mosser Drive in Shenango Township.
When crews arrived, Andrew Kelley, 35, and his 6-year-old son, Quentin, were outside. Andrew was screaming that his wife and daughter were still trapped inside.
Firefighters got the fire knocked down around 4 a.m. and were able to go inside and search. They found two victims, dead inside the home.
They have been identified as 33-year-old Kalle Convery and 9-year-old Aidan Kelley.
"It was extremely hot, there was no way we could enter the structure," Shenango Twp. Fire Chief Dave Rishel said. "The first floor and second floor was totally involved in flames, it was not safe to send firefighters in. We did everything we could, it just wasn't in the cards."
Andrew broke a window in order to get his son out of the burning home. He tried to do the same with his daughter's room, but was unable.
Andrew was taken to Jameson Hospital, where he was treated and released. Quentin is being treated at UPMC Mercy Hospital. On Tuesday afternoon, he was listed in good condition.
Officials are still searching through the home and aren't sure what caused the fire.
State police say just last year, the family had a dryer vent fire that caused smoke damage throughout the house and they had to make repairs.
"Just shocked," Jake McCrumb, a neighbor, said. "They were great neighbors and it's just horrible."
Both children attended the Shenango Elementary School.
The school district has counselors on hand, saying:
"Our deepest sympathies to the Kelley family. This is true loss to the entire Shenango community."
But many of the family's neighbors did not send their children to school Tuesday. They are planning to take up a collection for the family.
The community is devastated by the loss.
"There was not one day you could look out here and see these parents with their kids," Tammey McConahy. "They would ride those bikes up and down the street or the parents playing hopscotch with that little girl. It's very devastating."
The state police fire marshal is investigating the cause.
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