Home destroyed, another damaged after New Kensington fire

NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. — A fire destroyed one home and damaged another in New Kensington on Wednesday.

It started around 6:30 p.m. as a kitchen fire, but grew quickly.

PHOTOS: Fire burns two houses in New Kensington

Nathan Murray Sninicki said his mom, three brothers and dogs were home when the fire started.

“Everyone smells something burning, and you know we're just shocked because we see all this smoke upstairs. And we go down stairs and it’s just black smoke everywhere,” Sninicki said.

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Drone video from Arnold's Volunteer Fire Engine Number 2 showed the extent of the damage.

“We really didn't have a whole lot as it is and what little we had just went up in flames,” Sninicki said.

J. Edward Saliba, the New Kensington VFD fire chief, said the house was close to other homes, it could’ve been a lot worse.

He said they were worried about it spreading.

“We had to back out one time because of the heat. But they did a hell of a job at stopping the fire,” Saliba said. “We had the potential to lose 4 structures.”

Sninicki is just glad he and his family got out when they did.

“If I waited another 5 minutes, I might be dead,” Sninicki said. “I'm just glad everyone is okay.”

Their house is a total loss.

No injuries were reported.

Cox Media Group