News

Fundraising campaign extended for Munhall apartment fire victims

MUNHALL, Pa. — A fundraising campaign is underway for the victims of an apartment building fire in Munhall.

One person was killed and seven others hurt in the Dec. 16 blaze at Parkview Towers Apartments, an apartment building for seniors on Caroline Avenue.

The fire was reported shortly before 5 a.m. and reached three alarms before it was brought under control at 6:55 a.m. Some residents, many of whom have disabilities and move with the assistance of walkers and canes, had to be rescued by firefighters.

The United Methodist Church Union has organized a fundraiser for the fire victims. Click here to donate.

Scott Stevens, a resident, said when he saw the smoke inside his apartment building, he knew he had to help evacuate his neighbors.

"(I) ran up to the seventh floor to see if I could get people out,” he said.

Stevens said when he reached the seventh floor, thick, black smoke stopped him from reaching apartment doors, so he went down to the sixth floor to alert anyone he could.

“I was able to help one lady down (the) stairs,” he said. “The other officers were able to get others down floor by floor.”

Buses were brought in to help keep evacuated residents warm. A shelter was set up at the Messiah Lutheran Church on Main Street.

Park Elementary School in the Steel Valley School District was placed on a two-hour delay because it is one block away from the fire scene.

At least 80 people live in the building, and firefighters said the residents would not be allowed back in for the rest of the day because of smoke and water damage to the apartments.

The man who was killed was identified as 61-year-old Richard Miller.

Many residents escaped with nothing but the clothes they were wearing.

"I had to go without my walker or my money or my anything,” resident Martha Hynde said. She and several others went to a shelter.

"We finally got on a very cold bus, and they drove us here and this is like heaven compared to where we were a short time ago,” resident Paul Robb said.

Family members of residents can get more information from the management office by calling 412-461-2993.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.