Bethel Park Residents Evacuated After Landscaping Truck Hits Gas Line, Almost Engulfs Home In Flames
BETHEL PARK, Pa. (KDKA) - Some Bethel Park residents were evacuated or asked to stay inside due to a fire involving a house and a vehicle containing chemicals.
According to the Bethel Park Police on Twitter, Clark Avenue was closed between Logan Road and Sarah Street for the fire that happened Thursday afternoon.
UPDATE: Fire extinguished. Residents are free to move about, however, Clark Ave will remain closed for some time while crews investigate.
— Bethel Park Police (@bethelparkpd) October 3, 2019
They say the fire involved a house and a vehicle that had chemicals inside.
KDKA's Meghan Schiller reports that an unoccupied lawn care truck filled with chemicals somehow rolled down the hill and into a Bethel Park home's gas line, causing the fire.
The landscaper hopped into the truck, threw it in reverse and prevented the house from becoming fully engulfed by flames.
Meghan Schiller says the house is owned by a Bethel Park firefighter who wasn't home at the time.
Police asked people to avoid the area, but the fire is now extinguished.
The damage includes melted siding, punctured gas line, burned front yard and a destroyed lawn care truck.
"The first floor is brick on the house the second floor had vinyl siding and stuff," said fire Chief David Gerber of Bethel Park.
"If the truck would have stayed in the house, it would have been a good working house fire at that point."
Firefighters didn't know what chemicals burned and filled the air, so police evacuated neighbors along Clark Avenue for a short time.
#NEW: An unoccupied lawn care truck filled with chemicals somehow rolls down the hill and into a Bethel Park home's gas line, catching fire. The landscaper acted fast and hopped in the truck, threw it in reverse, and prevented a house fire! @KDKA pic.twitter.com/iYgCyaraAe
— MEGHAN SCHILLER (@MeghanKDKA) October 3, 2019
The landscaper was spraying chemicals in the back yard when he saw it happen.
Residents who were near the scene of the incident and weren't evacuated were asked to stay inside. However, police say residents can now move about.
While crews investigate, Clark Avenue will stay closed.
Stay with KDKA.com for the latest on this developing story
