Firefighters Battle Intense Fire, Exploding Ammo In Collier Township House Fire

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COLLIER TOWNSHIP, Pa.(KDKA) – Smoke was pouring out of a home in Collier Township on Wednesday afternoon.

When firefighters got the scene, the house on Walkers Mill Road in Collier Township was fully engulfed in flames.

They went inside to start putting out fire but had to pull out because ammunition was going off.

"As I watched, I watched the whole house engulf," said neighbor Doyle Schmitt.

Schmitt stood by watching his neighbor's house burn. Flames shot out of the roof and moved quickly as firefighters hosed down the house.

"The flames were really extreme," Schmitt said. "It took the telephone pole in front of house and had it in flames. Completely going straight up it."

Once firefighters went inside the home, they soon realized they were going to have to turn around.

"They encountered issues with ammunition going off inside the building," said David Brown, the Collier Township Fire Chief. "We also had some downed power lines and the gas meter on fire as preceded in. So we pulled everybody out."

"The last thing I heard was a small explosion and I'm like, where was that from and it come from inside the house," Schmitt said.

To make matters worse, Schmitt said his neighbor's just remodeled their home last year.

"They remodeled the complete outside, new windows, new roof, new back patio. This was just done last summer."

The family that lives in the home wasn't there when the fire broke out. No one was injured. It's unclear how the fire started.