MCKEESPORT, Pa. — A massive two-alarm fire leveled one home and damaged several others, as well as a car, in McKeesport Thursday morning.
Flames broke out at a home in the 1800 block of Soles Street around 2:05 a.m. It took firefighters nearly three hours to get the flames under control. The fire damaged four houses, one car and a gas covered portion of the street.
PHOTOS: Flames rip through multiple homes in McKeesport
The man who lives in the house where the fire started said he rushed to help his elderly neighbors out of their home next door after getting his family out.
Fire marshals say that they are unsure what caused the fire. Due to its size and severity, investigators called in an accelerant detecting K9. There is no confirmation if foul play is suspected at this time.
“I had to knock on their door to get inside. I had to run upstairs to get my neighbor out. Put his clothes on him. His wife’s in a wheelchair. Thank God she’s downstairs,” said the man who did not wish to be named.
The two elderly neighbors were taken to the hospital but are expected to be OK.
The official start of the fire has not been announced and is still under investigation.
“I heard a lot of cracking on our front porch. We didn’t know what it was. My sister was yelling, ‘Get out, get out, get out, there’s a fire!’ Ran down the steps. We couldn’t get out the front door because it was fully engulfed that fast,” he said.
He said he and his family used the backdoor to get out of the home.
The fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire. An accelerant detection K-9 unit was brought to the scene to assist.
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