1 person dead after late-night house fire in Penn Hills

A fire late on Tuesday night engulfed a home in Penn Hills and left one woman dead. 

Not much is left of a home that, according to the family, was once full of life. As of Wednesday morning, the remains were still smoking, and the inside was nothing but rubble. 

Marcia Cerza was reflecting and watching over what was left of the home that her sister Diane lived in, thinking back on a lifetime of memories. 

"We talked every day, sometimes twice a day, just to keep in touch," she said. "It doesn't take away the pain, but it's easing it, because we shared some good times." 

Her sister tragically died overnight when the home on Wilson Drive went up in flames. 

"We were getting reports from the neighbors that the occupant was probably still inside of the house," said Penn Hills No. 7 Fire Chief Bill Jeffcoat. "After some investigating, unfortunately, we did find an occupant of the house deceased."

Chief Jeffcoat said it was a harsh, fully involved fire, and with the rubble inside, the busted-out windows, and melted siding, it was not an easy fight, and not much was left. 

On Wednesday morning, Marcia said her sister Diane left her a sign. 

"She did ceramics; she did that; these are the kind of things she loved doing," she said. "She used to teach the seniors, too." 

Leaving an untouched ceramic angel in the rubble for her to find was the sign Marcia needed. 

"She will be missed; she's going to be missed." 

The fire department said that, luckily, the fire did not spread to neighboring homes, but it has been deemed a total loss.