Penn Hills Woman, 64, Dies In House Fire

A woman was found dead Wednesday morning after fire swept through a house in Penn Hills.

The victim, Patty Ainsworth, 64, was found just five feet from the front door of her Madison Drive home, investigators said.

Neighbors told Channel 11 they awoke to creaking noises coming from the home around 4 a.m.

Neighbors said they tried to break open the door, to no avail.

“We got through the bottom half, not the top,” neighbor Michael Creighton said. “(There was) a lot of smoke, a lot of heat. … We kicked it in, knee in, tried everything. It was a pretty solid door.”

Penn Hills police Officer Geoff Agreen said he tried to enter the house by breaking down a side door, but the flames prevented him from going inside.

Knowing that Ainsworth was found just feet from the door made it even worse for neighbors.

“I wish I would have never known, to be honest with you,” Creighton said. “It is what it is.”

Investigators said Ainsworth had health issues and was confined to the first floor of her home.

The cause of the fire was ruled accidental due to smoking in bed.

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