Overnight Trailer Fire Leaves Family Homeless In West Newton
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WEST NEWTON (KDKA) -- A family is homeless after an overnight trailer fire in Westmoreland County.
The fire broke out just before 4:30 a.m. at the mobile home park along Finch Lane in West Newton in Sewickley Township.
Scott Ashbaugh, the man who lived in the trailer for seven years, said he was asleep when he woke up to the smell of smoke in his home.
Ashbaugh believes it may have started in the fireplace.
"I woke up. Everything was heating good. I smelled smoke. I got up. The house was full of smoke. The roof was on fire. [I] got everybody up, got everybody out safely," Ashbaugh said.
He was able to get everyone out of the home before the trailer was engulfed in flames.
Four adults and six children all got out safely.
However, the mobile home is a total loss. Everything inside was destroyed. Ashbaugh says his family's safety was his only concern.
When firefighters got to the scene, they not only had to deal with the massive flames, but the record-low temperatures as well. A tent was set up so they could take turns warming up.
The street were freezing over from the water as well.
Firefighters from 12 different departments helped put out the flames, working in the extreme conditions with icicles on their gear, frozen hoses and, in some cases, their mustaches.
The Red Cross is expected to help the family with their needs following the blaze.
"It's gone. It's the hardest thing you'll ever meet in your life. It's gone, everything you ever worked for is gone," Ashbaugh said. "We've lost one house one time before. I bounced back from that. I'll bounce back from this."
