Resident injured in Canton house fire
Canton Township Fire Chief Dave Gump credited the quick action of a group of workers for helping stymie a house fire Wednesday morning.
Hazel Day, 75, was the only resident in the home at 42 Paul St. when flames broke out before 11 a.m. Gump said the fire originated in a front bedroom chair, possibly from a lit cigarette left there.
Day had a weak pulse when emergency responders found her lying in a back bedroom. They administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation before transporting her via ambulance to Washington Hospital.
Jon Bacon, who was working at a house across the street, said he and three other men quickly connected a garden hose when they saw flames coming from the front of the house. They broke two windows to gain access to the flames.
Gump said without their intervention, damage would have been much more extensive.
“I just hope that lady’s OK,” Bacon said.
Until about two years ago, Day operated a personal care home from the house with as many as eight patients in residence at a time. Gump said she lived there alone and owns several other personal care homes in the Washington area.
Washington and South Strabane Township fire departments assisted at the scene.