'Seconds Matter:' Neighbors Recall Massive Apartment Complex Fire In Harmony Township
HARMONY TOWNSHIP (KDKA) - A neighbor rescued a woman and a baby from their burning apartment building in Harmony Township.
Charred and damaged apartments sit empty on Stephens Street in Harmony Township in Beaver County. Roaring flames ripped through the three-unit building on Sunday morning.
"I saw the flames out of my back porch here, it's like, 'oh my God and I hoped everybody got out safe'," said Dorothy Davis, who lives near the apartments. "They were intense in this unit here, then the smoke started."
Fire Chief Patrick Shearer, of the Harmony Township Police Department, said a man who lived in the building got out of his unit and helped a woman and her baby who were on the roof of their porch. The mother and child were taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.
"When I pulled on scene, there was a female on the roof. I believe one of the other residents put up a ladder on the house and he was able to get her down," Shearer said.
Firefighters rescued a cat from a unit and the pet was reunited with its family.
Shearer said five people are without a place to live. They received assistance from the American Red Cross.
Crews had some problems with water, so tankers had to be brought in. Ten fire departments responded.
"With the water issues, until we got the tankers here and established, for the safety of the personnel we pulled everybody out of the structure until we were able to gain water back and once we did, we went back in to keep working," said Shearer.
One man's bravery during this devastating fire won't be forgotten.
"Seconds matter, he did a great job with helping get her down. When I pulled up, he had gotten her to the ground and we got them away from the structure but yes, seconds matter," Shearer said.
The cause of the fire is unknown at this point.
Beaver County 911 confirmed Big Sewickley Volunteer Fire Department crews bringing water, got into a crash with another vehicle. One person was transported.
