Westmoreland County home and day care catches fire after neighbors report loud "boom"
Crews responded to a fire at a home and day care in Westmoreland County after neighbors reported hearing a loud "boom."
On Wednesday morning at around 10:45 a.m., a house fire started at 919 Wood Street in Derry Township. Neighbors say they heard an explosion, and Ronald Fetterman, who lives right next door, says that the explosion shook his house.
"I walk out my front door, and I see the patio, the porch on fire. Flames up over everything," Fetterman said.
Fetterman grabbed his dog and got out, but when he went back in for his cats, fire crews literally had to pull him out to safety.
First responders came from Derry Township, Latrobe, Unity Township, Ligonier Township, and as far away as Indiana County.
Derry Township Fire Department Chief Nick Piantine said that when they arrived, their main goal was to get people out of the house and the daycare center, but they were relieved to learn that the daycare staff had successfully gotten all 10 kids who were in their charge out safely.
No one was hurt in the blaze, but the house and daycare center are both a total loss.
Wood Street resident Rhiannon Raeacosky had her son at the daycare. She raced back to him as soon as the call went out.
Raeacosky said that she is also a volunteer firefighter in Derry Township, and that she was thankful for both the staff of the daycare center and all the first responders, many of whom called her personally to tell her her son was safe.
"I am very grateful for the volunteers," Raeacosky said. "And Unity Township is the on-call; they are paid during the day, so that is fantastic to have them and have a paid service that is here as well."
While there is no word on what that explosion was or what caused it to occur, both Chief Piantine and the head of the daycare center stressed how important it is to do fire drills with young kids.
They say that made all the difference in getting those kids out safely when the fire started.