Woman killed in late-night apartment fire in Westmoreland County

One person was killed in an apartment fire in Derry Borough, Westmoreland County, late Monday night.

Crews from several municipalities, including Derry, Latrobe, Blairsville and Ligonier, worked to put out the blaze.

Video shared with KDKA-TV shows flames tearing through the three-unit apartment building in the 100 block of Gavin Way just after 11 p.m. 

The victim, a woman, lived on the building's first floor. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Westmoreland County Coroner's Office had not yet publicly identified the victim, pending a notification of her family.

Mylene Nguyen, the neighbor who shared video with KDKA, says she still can't believe this happened.

"It's tragic. Very sad. We are familiar with the people that live here, and it is just really tragic. Last night, I was crying. We called our priest. Prayers for the family," Nguyen said.

The fire briefly rekindled Tuesday morning, and firefighters returned to work on hot spots.

Courtney Meloy of Derry Township, one of the building's owners, watched over the effort. She says she and a few other property owners took over this building this spring, and they are trying to figure out next steps.

"Waking up, we first heard about the news on Facebook, and that was a tough way to hear the news. I'm feeling terrible about everything that's happened," Meloy said. 

"Anything you can say about your tenant?" asked KDKA's Chris DeRose.

"I am just at a loss for words. She was wonderful and a fine tenant, but very surprising and sad."

As for the other two tenants in the building, one was not home at the time of the fire and the other made it out safely. It is not known what caused the fire to start. The state police fire marshal is currently investigating.