8 people displaced after fire in Pittsburgh’s Esplen neighborhood

PITTSBURGH — Eight people, including two children, are without a place to live after a home in Esplen caught fire twice within 24 hours.

“It looks like my house is gone pretty much,” said the homeowner, Stephen Figura.

Figura is in disbelief after two fires broke out in his house along Oregon Street.

“One of the two windows on the second floor had flames shooting out of it,” said John McGee, a neighbor.

Figura said he woke up to the smoke alarms going off around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. He said he probably would not have made it out had they not gone off.

Just 15 hours earlier, a small attic fire that appeared to be electrical didn’t cause a lot of damage, so they were still able to stay inside the home.

No one was hurt, but a cat died in the fire.

“It’s really hard,” said Figura. “It’s scary.”

A spokeswoman for Pittsburgh Public Safety said the second fire was accidentally caused by the use of a generator.

The Red Cross is providing assistance.

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