Home In Collier Township Sustains Heavy Smoke Damage In Fire

COLLIER TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- Multiple crews battled a house fire in Collier Township on Saturday afternoon.

When fire crews arrived on the scene, they found heavy smoke billowing out of the home. It was so thick, they were unable to see but to remedy the situation, they broke the windows to get some of the smoke out and ultimately put the fire out quickly.

Just before 4:30 p.m., neighbors on Delfred Drive saw smoke coming from the home next door.

"Luckily the neighbor across the street seen the smoke coming out and they must've called and they got here real quick," said Robert Downey Jr., one of the neighbors. "Standing up in my yard, you could have had a tough time breathing, that's how thick it was."

An elderly woman was home alone when the fire started in the basement and she got out on her own and was not hurt.

A mother and daughter live in the home and the daughter was not home at the time of the fire.

The smoke billowing from the home when crews arrived kept them from entering the home, forcing them to break several windows and put holes in the roof.

"Once we were able to ventilate and actually see where we were going, we were able to get into the basement from the first floor and also through the garage," said Evyn Ray, the Assistant Chief at Rennerdale Volunteer Fire Department.

The family will likely be able to live in the house after extensive repairs.

According to firefighters, the basement will not be livable and the first floor sustained a lot of smoke damage but once that is repaired, it will likely be livable.

Six departments were needed to put the fire out and the cause is under investigation.