Fire Officials: Hoarding Made Munhall Fire Fight Difficult
MUNHALL (KDKA) – A home in Munhall was destroyed when flames erupted there Friday morning, and firefighters say hoarding made the fire pretty tough to fight.
"There are very, very bad hoarding conditions. They're the most, some of the worst I've seen in 30 years," said Munhall Fire Chief Ed Pletsch.
The woman who owns the house on Marion Street was at the store up the street when the fire started. She came back just as firefighters arrived.
They say if not for the mess left from hoarding, they might have been able to get the flames under control faster.
"Basically, it might have been a smaller fire, we might not have had to call the extra man power in," said Chief Pletsch.
And it wasn't just all the stuff inside that made the fire difficult to fight.
"We've had a couple of guys go down on the ice," Chief Pletsch said. "We did have two guys fall from the exterior of the structure; one maybe has a broken leg. The other one had a shoulder injury."
The firefighter with the broken leg was taken to the hospital
As for the house, it's a total loss. The Salvation Army is stepping in to help the homeowner.
Neighbors say it's not the first time this woman's had problems.
"A few years ago, they had to gut her house because she had so much stuff in it," said Velma Volomino, a neighbor.
Velma says she's lived next door for close to 50 years. She says she and other neighbors feel terrible.
"I feel real bad for the lady," she said. "I feel sad for her because I think she needs help anyone that does that needs help."
No word yet on what started the fire.
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