April 27, 2023 North Apollo Fire Chief Chris Kerr ordered firefighters out of the house because of unstable conditions.
By Michael DiVittorio Source The Tribune-Review, Greensburg (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Apr. 26—A North Apollo house fire has left a man homeless, and state police searching for answers.
No injuries were reported after firefighters from multiple companies put out a blaze Wednesday night at 1239 Pegtown Ave. near the borough’s Roaring Run Trail access.
First responders were dispatched to the scene, off of River Road at McCain Street around 8:30 p.m.
“It’s a two-story, single-family residence,” said North Apollo Fire Chief Chris Kerr. “I have the (state police) fire marshal coming down tomorrow out of Butler. I got conflicting stories (as to the cause of the fire). That’s why I’m bringing the fire marshal.
“I had heavy fire pushing out the front and right side of the structure. The first floor was unstable, so we pulled everybody out. We had a guy that almost went down through the floor. There was a hole in the floor.”
There was no damage to an occupied home to the left of the burning house. A vacant home to its right was also untouched.
Kerr said a recreational vehicle that was either being repaired or stripped for parts a few feet way from the fire sustained some damage.
Firefighters were addressing hot spots in the attic an hour after being on scene.
Murrysville and Oklahoma EMS personnel had rehab stations to help firefighters recover.
There was a small issue getting water from nearby hydrants.
“These hydrants down here are all on the same loop,” Kerr said. “We lost water briefly. We adapted and brought in a couple tanker trucks. There are four (hydrants) down here and we used two of them.
“Trying to use multiple hydrants caused a water issue for a short time. We were able to overcome it pretty quickly.”
Firefighters from Apollo, Kiski Township, Vandergrift, Bethel, Burrell Township, Parks Township and Kittanning responded, as did Kiski Township and state police.
It was unclear if the displaced man would stay with relatives or could be assisted by the Red Cross.
River Road was reduced to one lane around the scene.
The intersection of North Eleventh Street and North Warren Avenue a few blocks away was also closed for about an hour due to an abundance of fire trucks.
Michael DiVittorio is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Michael at 412-871-2367, mdivittorio@triblive.com or via Twitter .