3 People Rescued From Roof Of Burning Home In Bentleyville
BENTLEYVILLE (KDKA) -- Three people had to be rescued overnight in Washington County after fire erupted at their home.
The blaze broke out around 3:45 a.m. in the 200-block of Johnston Road in Bentleyville.
There were six people who lived inside the home. The homeowner says he was asleep in a chair in the front of the home when he saw the flames.
"It went up the wall so fast, within milliseconds it was up to the ceiling," said David Owens, the fire victim. "I smelled an odor, I woke up, it was like a fog. I looked to my left there was flames shooting from behind the couch. I moved the couch and it just went up."
Owens says he moved quickly when he saw the flames, working to get his wife and family out safely.
"I got my wife out, took her out this door here; and my granddaughter, she has another door beside her bedroom, so she got out that way," Owens said.
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His daughter, son-in-law and grandson had to be rescued from the roof by firefighters.
"The fire department put a ladder up there; they got them off that way," Owens said.
"We used a 14-foot ladder to get there," Bentleyville Fire Department Assistant Chief Ron Sicchitano said.
The fire marshal's office is investigating the cause of the fire. But Owens says he believes it started in the basement of the 95-year-old home, coming from an air duct.
"We had heavy fire on division one of the structure and we had a pretty quick knockdown with the first apparatus," Sicchitano said.
At this point, it's not known if the home is a total loss. The fire marshal will make that determination. The fire has been ruled accidental.
The homeowner says he hopes to return to his home soon.
