2 women killed in Arnold house fire
Two people died in a fire in Arnold.
As a makeshift memorial was placed on the porch at 1908 Kenneth Avenue on Thursday, relatives told neighbors that two of their family members had died from the injuries they sustained in the fire the day before.
The medical examiner identified the victims as 38-year-old Latecia Murphy and 39-year-old Shakeeta Murphy.
Arnold Fire Department Chief Eric Gartley said the department was dispatched just after 7:30 p.m. to a garage fire a few blocks away from the scene before they were called to the 1900 block of Kenneth Avenue for a working house fire.
Isabel Morrison says she was coming back from the park with her friends when they saw the terrible scene unfolding, with flames coming out of her neighbor's house.
"I was kind of scared," Morrison said.
Scared or not, Isabel and several other children got adults to start calling for the fire department and police.
Isabel's brother, Jaxson Zarbugh, even helped an adult try and lift a ladder up to the third-floor window to help his trapped neighbor escape the flames.
"She slipped before we could get it over," Zarbugh said. "She fell and then the cops came and then they took her."
One victim, a woman, was found unconscious in between buildings and was assessed by EMS personnel, the chief said. Officials believe the woman fell at least 15 feet to the ground. She was rushed to UPMC Mercy from the scene.
A second victim, another woman who was unconscious when first responders found her, was rescued from a second-floor bedroom inside the building.
Three people were last listed in critical condition, while another was in stable condition. One person refused treatment at the scene.
Heavy fire could be seen coming from the second-floor bedroom while heavy smoke was seen from the second and third floor of the structure.
The house is likely a total loss, Chief Gartley said.
Fire crews from Arnold, New Kensington, Lower Burrell and several other municipalities in Westmoreland and Allegheny counties worked tirelessly to put out the blaze. Arnold Fire Chief Eric Gartley said that he is grateful to the neighboring fire companies and praised the working relationship they all have.
Gartley went on to say that the state fire marshal is investigating what caused this fire to start, but he said, "We can kind of narrow down the area of origin, which was one of the bedrooms."