Watch CBS News

Firefighters Rescue Man From Third Floor Of Burning Building In Lawrenceville

Follow KDKA-TV: Facebook | Twitter

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – When firefighters responded to an apartment building in Lawrenceville, flames were shooting out of the back porch.

You can hear glass breaking in cell phone video shot by witness Lou Tournay. When he realized what was happening, he jumped into action.

"I banged on the door. Fellow come out. He [had] just got up and I said, 'your house is on fire' and then another fellow fell down the steps. It was really sad," Tourney said.

lawrenceville fire2
(Photo Credit: Amy Wadas/KDKA)

Keiheen Trowery lives in the second-floor apartment with his husband.

"When I woke up, I seen my kitchen was really smoky then I seen red fire. I panicked and ran outside. Had to grab my cat and husband and we got out," fire victim Keiheen Trowery said.

A neighbor put Trowery's cat in her car to keep it warm during the fire fight. While Trowery is glad everyone made it out safely, there's one possession he's hoping wasn't damaged.

"My grandmother's in there. Her ashes was in there," Trowery said.

When firefighters got to the scene just before 11 in the morning, smoke and fire was billowing from the back porch. That's when they realized a man was trapped on the third floor.

"The person was trying to come down the back steps and could not come down the back steps at that time. He had to retreat through the flames and smoke back into the house. The sixth truck got on scene and knocked it down. They made entry and rescued the gentleman," Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire Chief Darryl Jones said.

lawrenceville apartment fire
(Photo Credit: Amy Wadas/KDKA)

The man was taken to the hospital and is in stable condition. No one else was inside the building at the time.

A firefighter had to get his ankle checked out when he returned to the fire station.

It's unclear how the fire started.

As for Trowery and his husband, they will be staying with family in the interim.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.