Local

Firefighters rescue resident from Fifth Avenue apartment fire

PITTSBURGH — Emergency crews rushed to the scene of a two-alarm fire Friday morning in Uptown.

Investigators said the flames were first reported just before 8 a.m. on the third floor of an apartment building on Fifth Avenue.

Residents who live on the first floor of the building told Channel 11 News they didn’t know what was happening as neighbors frantically ran down the stairs and out of the building.

One resident had to be pulled from a window because his apartment door was blocked by fire crews rushing into the building.

“I definitely didn’t know what was going on. There was less smoke, but the fumes were really burning my eyes. It was hard to breath, so I covered my mouth,” the resident said.

Firefighters said the flames started in the kitchen of one of the apartments, but the exact cause is unknown.

A section of Fifth Avenue was closed for several hours while crews worked to extinguish the blaze. The road has since reopened.