Feb 5, 2022 2 min read

Fire crews worked into the early morning hours Friday to put out a house fire in Robinson Township, a situation made worse by poor weather conditions.

According to Midway Fire Department Chief Doug Baird, the fire started at 1009 Country Hollow Road sometime before midnight Thursday.

“We were out on so many other incidents with wires, trees and flooding,” Baird said.

Firefighters were on the scene until about 5:30 a.m.

Baird said two adults and two children lived at the house, and everyone made it out safely. According to Baird, the displaced residents are staying with nearby family.

The fire was engulfed in flames by the time crews arrived. The fire may have started in an upstairs bedroom, but the Allegheny County fire marshal continues to investigate the cause, according to Baird. The house is on the border of Findlay Township in Allegheny County.

Baird said that the winter storm “absolutely” hindered their response. There were as many as eight trees down along the route to Country Hollow Road, and crews were not able to drive around all of them.

“They had to stop and cut trees up before we could get there. We were giving incoming units alternate routes to get there. The road conditions were very poor, which was a big-time delay,” Baird said.

Once they were on scene, problems persisted. Baird said the storm had already created a lot of ice.

“Putting more water on the fire created more ice,” he said.

No injuries were reported as a result of the fire. Baird called that fact “a blessing.”

“Nobody got hurt or killed. That’s the most important thing,” Baird said.

Also responding were firefighters from McDonald, Slovan, Sturgeon, Mt. Pleasant and Imperial.