An elderly West Mifflin couple who died in a fire early Thursday has been identified.

The victims are Carl and Victoria Bajus, both 78, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Fire tore through their West Mifflin home forcing fire crews to retreat for their own safety as the house collapsed in on itself, authorities said.

A 911 caller reported the fire shortly before 4 a.m. By the time crews arrived at the home near Lebanon School and Kings roads, the blaze was already going strong, said Chief Joe Hlasnick of the West Mifflin No. 3 Volunteer Fire Department.

“The fire was well ahead of us by the time we’d gotten here,” said Hlasnick, who was first on the scene at the two-story home.

Victoria Bajus was found dead on the second floor.

Recovery crews took great pains to recover her husband’s body, which could not be immediately located. Heavy machinery, including a backhoe, was brought in to knock down trees near the house and begin the delicate process of de-layering — taking down debris one piece at a time.

“It’s a drawn-out process at this point so we don’t miss anything and respect (the victim),” he said.

Kings Road branches off Lebanon School Road, about 200 yards from its intersection with Route 837. Hlasnick said conflicting addresses — the home in question has an address of Lebanon School Road despite being off Kings Road — caused some issues for responding firefighters. Heavy fog early Thursday also gave them trouble, he said.

Crews were met with a massive volume of flames when they arrived, the chief said. They began battling the blaze, aware of the people trapped inside, but Hlasnick said he was forced to make the call to pull his crews out when the roof began caving in. For the safety of his people, he made the call for them to back out.

“These are never easy incidents,” he said.

The structure wasn’t stable even hours after the fire started, and investigators used a drone to look down inside the house.

The Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating.

One person told Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV the husband made it out and then went back inside for his wife.

“I smelled smoke while I was sleeping, but I didn’t think anything of it,” said neighbor Debbie Stanton, noting the people in the neighborhood often use their fireplaces. She said another neighbor called and woke her after seeing the flames and fire trucks.

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