Man left homeless after fire destroys North Apollo dwelling

A North Apollo house fire has left a man homeless and state police searching for answers.

No injuries were reported after firefighters from multiple companies put out a blaze Wednesday night in the 1200 block of Pegtown Avenue near the borough’s Roaring Run Trail access.

First responders were dispatched about 8:30 p.m. to the scene, off River Road at McCain Street.

“It’s a two-story, single-family residence,” said North Apollo Fire Chief Chris Kerr. “I have the (state police) fire marshal coming down tomorrow out of Butler. I got conflicting stories (as to the cause of the fire). That’s why I’m bringing the fire marshal.

“I had heavy fire pushing out the front and right side of the structure. The first floor was unstable, so we pulled everybody out. We had a guy that almost went down through the floor. There was a hole in the floor.”

There was no damage to an occupied home to the left of the burning house. A vacant home to its right also was untouched.

Kerr said a recreational vehicle that was either being repaired or stripped for parts a few feet way from the fire sustained damage.

Firefighters were addressing hot spots in the attic an hour after being on the scene.

Murrysville and Oklahoma EMS personnel had rehab stations to help firefighters recover.

There was a small issue getting water from nearby hydrants.

“These hydrants down here are all on the same loop,” Kerr said. “We lost water briefly. We adapted and brought in a couple tanker trucks. There are four (hydrants) down here and we used two of them.

“Trying to use multiple hydrants caused a water issue for a short time. We were able to overcome it pretty quickly.”

Firefighters from Apollo, Kiski Township, Vandergrift, Bethel, Burrell Township, Parks Township and Kittanning responded, as did Kiski Township and state police.

It was unclear whether the displaced man would stay with relatives or could be assisted by the Red Cross.

River Road was reduced to one lane around the scene.

The intersection of North Eleventh Street and North Warren Avenue a few blocks away also was closed for about an hour because of an abundance of firetrucks.