Fire crews battled a large blaze at an apartment building in Heidelberg Thursday morning –- which also happened to be a fellow fireman's home.

Officials said flames were shooting from the roof of the First Street building when they arrived.

Five people and two dogs were able to escape the building safely.

"One of the worst things about this fire is actually a member of our department [lives here]. He's been a member for about eight years, so it was rough because our guys knew it was his family and his house and we were trying to do what we could to make sure that everyone was safe and everyone was out -- which we did confirm," said Heidelberg Volunteer Fire Department Chief Joseph Wissel.

Wissel said the three-story building has a piano refinishing business on the first floor, which does a lot of work for several churches in Pittsburgh.