93-Year-Old Escapes House Fire In Whitehall

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WHITEHALL (KDKA) -- An elderly man's Whitehall home was badly damaged in a fire Monday afternoon.

Firefighters were called to Child Drive just after 5 p.m.

(Photo Credit: NewsChopper 2/KDKA)

Elmer Matto, 93, has lived at his home on Child Drive for more than 60 years. He says when he returned home from a long drive Monday night, he noticed something was wrong with his engine. He says smoke and flames were coming through the cracks of the roof of his 1991 Pontiac.

The flames eventually spread to the garage, the first floor of his house, the attic and the roof. Matto was able to escape his home safely with his dog Shelby.

(Photo Credit: Rachele Mongiovi/KDKA)

"By the time the fire department got here, it had developed pretty good. I wondered through the years what would happen to anybody, I didn't think it would happen to me though," said Matto.

Whitehall Fire Chief Eric Harris says the cause of the fire is still under investigation. Harris says the house is badly damaged.