Downed power line sparks fire at Ross day care center, 35 kids evacuated safely

Thirty-five children were evacuated from a childcare center in Ross Township on Tuesday after a tree knocked down power lines that sparked a fire, according to authorities.

Firefighters from several departments responded to the Hiland Childcare Center in the 800 block of Perry Highway shortly after 1:30 p.m. The childcare center is located on the campus of Hiland Presbyterian Church, which also operates a preschool on the site that was not in session Tuesday.

“The staff saw smoke outside the window and didn’t know if the building was on fire or not, so they evacuated all the children to the church next door,” said John Yester, assistant fire chief at Perrysville Volunteer Fire Co.

There were no injuries or damage to the building reported, he said.

“We were in the middle of a torrential downpour, but this stuff is so hot when it burns that it’s going to instantly dry it out and catch the brush on fire,” he said. “The closest the power lines got to the building was the playground outside.”

The fire burned out once Duquesne Light Co. responded to the scene to cut the power, he said.

The intensity of the heat from the burning power lines left charred grooves in the wet grass outside the building.

Yester said the tree came down during a rainstorm and hit the power lines leading to transformers inside the day care center.

Firefighters conducted a room-by-room search of the building but found no damage, he said.

The childcare center’s director, Evelyn Ruck, said parents were contacted and came to pick up their children.

“We’re very fortunate” that the evacuation went smoothly,” she said. “That’s why we practice fire drills.”

Ruck said the power to the building is expected to be restored by Wednesday and normal operations will resume “unless we hear otherwise.”