Woman Dragged Off Porch Moments Before Explosion At Carrick Home
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CARRICK (KDKA) -- A neighbor and a city worker are being credited with saving a woman from a house fire in Carrick Monday afternoon.
The fire was first reported just after 1:30 p.m. at a home on Lucina Avenue near Queenston Street.
"We weren't sure exactly what we had inside. I mean, if it was one or two cylinders, but they did hear an explosion and like I said, it's under investigation, but we think it was an oxygen cylinder," Pittsburgh Fire Bureau Battalion Chief Doug Praskovich said.
Officials at the scene say a neighbor and a city worker who were passing by dragged the woman who lived at the home off the porch seconds before the explosion.
"They got into the house and as they got into the house, they looked back out the front door. Apparently an oxygen tank had exploded," neighbor Rick Sefchick said.
The woman was taken to the hospital.
"She looked like was burnt. Her hair was singed pretty good," Sefchick said.
The victim's condition is unknown.
Firefighters maneuvered ladders between utility lines to get to the fire and keep it from spreading to other homes just a few feet away.
"They saw a lot of smoke on arrival. When they got on the scene, there was fire coming out of the porch and the living room area," a fire official said.
A firefighter also hurt his hand while battling the fire.
It's believed a family pet died in the fire. The cause is under investigation.