Fire destroys Chartiers Township home The fire left three people homeless and killed the family’s pets
Eleanor Dianne Clark consoles her granddaughter, Stephanie, as firefighters battle a blaze at their Chartiers Township home Tuesday morning.
Firefighters battle a blaze Tuesday morning in the 600 block of North Main Street in Chartiers Township.
A fire destroyed a Chartiers Township house Tuesday, leaving three people homeless and killing several of the family’s pets.
Firefighters battled frigid temperatures while they worked to extinguish the blaze at 661 N. Main St. in the township’s Midland neighborhood, about a mile outside Houston.
No one was home when the fire was reported shortly after 10 a.m., but two dogs and two cats were trapped inside and died, Chartiers fire Chief Vince Altieri said. A third cat escaped the fire, the chief said.
The homeowner, Eleanor Dianne Clark, said she left her home about 9:50 a.m. to go to the store and was called by a friend about the emergency. Clark, 75, returned to find the two-story home she shared with her son, Jeff, and granddaughter, Stephanie, engulfed in smoke and flames.
“I’m making it. What else can you do?” Clark said. “There’s not much we can do about it.”
She consoled her granddaughter in an alley behind the home upon learning several of the family’s pets were trapped inside and could not be rescued.
“Life will go on,” Clark said while clutching her granddaughter before learning one of the cats survived.
Clark said her homeowner’s insurance is expected to pay for her family to stay in a motel until they can find permanent housing. She had just finished renovating many parts of the home she has owned since 1992.
Heavy smoke poured from the house as firefighters doused it with water. The cold temperatures led to many icy spots nearby, although no injuries were reported.
North Main Street was closed in both directions for six hours while firefighters worked to control the blaze. A state police fire marshal is investigating the cause. Altieri said that task was made more difficult because the second floor of the home collapsed onto the ground level.
Firefighters from Canonsburg, North Strabane and Houston assisted Chartiers at the scene. Canonsburg Hospital paramedics also responded.
Tuesday’s fire was the second to occur on that road in two weeks. Firefighters responded to a small kitchen fire at 715 N. Main St. on Jan. 19 that caused minimal damage to a duplex.