Family Credits Puppy With Saving Them From Harrison Twp. Fire
HARRISON TOWNSHIP (KDKA) - A pit bull named Juice is being credited for saving seven people's lives in Harrison Township.
"My 4-month-old pit bull woke us up. Thank goodness. My other dog was sleeping like a drunken sailor on the chair. She didn't do anything. It was the puppy. He woke us up. If it wasn't for him we wouldn't be here right now," Ilah Verner said.
The fire started just after 1 a.m. at a home in Vine Street.
"Just a heavy amount of fire upon arrival," said Hilltop Hose Company Chief Mike Krzeminski. "So, whatever happened here had a good start on us."
The entire second floor and roof were engulfed in flames when fire crews arrived.
Verner lives on the first floor of the duplex with her fiancé, cousin and two children - ages 9 and 11.
"Someone firebombed my house," fire victim Marcus Obey said.
That's what police are looking into today. They're reviewing surveillance video hoping to identify a suspect.
"I was asleep. Heard some noise. Came outside the bedroom. The whole back kitchen was on fire," Obey said.
Obey said he climbed to the roof of the duplex to rescue a grandmother and her grandson.
"I'm surprisingly content. I'm happy I got my gram out safely. She's a little bumped up, but it could've been worse," fire victim Jacob Fisher said.
Fisher and his grandmother were taken to Allegheny Valley Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. They have since been treated and released.
"I was actually in the hospital talking to my gram and they came in and handcuffed me and took me to the police and waited for detectives to come and apologize, it was wrong on their behalf," Fisher said.
Now, police are trying to make things right by finding the perpetrator. Until then, Juice is being called the hero.
Allegheny County Police and the fire marshal are investigating the cause of this fire.
The Red Cross is offering a hotel for families to stay in.
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