Woman Scrambles To Safety When Fire Breaks Out At Butler County Apartment Building
BUTLER, Pa. (KDKA) - A woman had to scramble to safety when a fire broke out in her apartment building in Butler County.
A large part of the apartment building on West Cunningham Street is in ashes from an early morning fire in the city of Butler.
Butler Fire Chief Chris Switala says one woman was inside when the fire started just after 7 Friday morning. He says the call originally came in that she was trapped, but says she escaped thanks to working smoke detectors and a fire escape outside of her window.
"She was able to self evacuate using the fire escape and like I said, she was fortunate that there was a working smoke alarm that alerted her to the fire. That's what definitely saved her life," Chief Switala said.
Neighbor Traci Gaiser said, "I'm very thankful that everybody is OK and that there were fire detectors in there because a lot of these people don't have them in. It is a necessity with the electrical issues around."
One other person lives in the building, but they weren't home at the time.
A vacant business on the first floor received some water damage.
Right now, the woman is getting help for her losses.
The Butler Fire Department has asked the state fire marshal to investigate.
