10 hospitalized, including 3 firefighters, in 6-alarm blaze at apartment complex in Ross
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Ten people, including three firefighters, were hospitalized Thursday night from injuries they suffered in a fire that damaged a four-story apartment building in Ross and forced the evacuation of the entire 80-unit building, a Ross-West View fire official said.
The seven residents of the building in the 5900 block of Babcock Boulevard suffered from smoke inhalation, and the three firefighters sustained heat-related injuries in the six-alarm fire, said Greg Porter, Ross-West View EMS chief. Five firefighters were treated at the scene and released, Porter said. He said all of the injuries were non-life-threatening.
Firefighters had to use ladder trucks to rescue several people from the windows of the Highlands at Chapel Hill, while other firefighters led residents out of the hallways and to safety, Porter said. Four of six cats rescued in the fire survived, he said.
The fire, which was reported at 7:45 p.m., caused significant damage throughout the building, Porter said. Smoke and flames were seen coming from the building.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Allegheny County Fire Marshal, but it appears it began in the basement, Porter said.
More than 100 firefighters from about a dozen departments fought the blaze.
One resident forced out of her basement apartment, Debbie Klug, said she had a “numb feeling” by what had just happened.
“This is where you live,” Klug said. “You never think it’s going to happen to you, but it does.”
Klug said she heard the fire alarm sound and then heard “banging on her front door,” which was her son yelling that the building was on fire.
Klug’s son, Chris Bish, said he saw smoke pouring out of a staircase near his third-floor apartment.
“My first thought was, ‘I need to get my mom to tell her that this (fire) is real,’ ” Bish said.
Klug said she saw light smoke, then a black cloud behind her son. In the short time it took to get cellphone, “it was pitch black” when she fled the apartment.
“I could not see in front of my face,” Klug said.
When they walked around the back of the building, “there was smoke billowing out of two apartments, coming out of the windows,” she said. Fire from a basement storage room “was blazing red,” she added.
She was philosophical about her loss.
“Everything’s replaceable. Everyone’s OK. That’s the most important part,” Klug said.
To take care of those in need of assistance, a temporary shelter was set up at the nearby Christ Episcopal Church.
Red Cross Disaster Action Teams were coordinating with local and county officials to identify and support displaced residents to meet immediate needs such as shelter, clothing and food, said Lisa Landis, a Red Cross spokeswoman. Anyone who is in need of Red Cross assistance but is unable to travel to the evacuation center should call 1-800-RED CROSS, which is 800-733-2767.
The Salvation Army sent disaster response teams to the site. Emergency response teams from UPMC and Allegheny Health Network also assisted at the scene.