Woman left homeless after fire in Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood shares her story

PITTSBURGH — A woman left homeless after a fire in Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood is sharing her story with Channel 11.

Hope Hazlip was sleeping in the downstairs apartment when she smelled smoke.

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“I went to my porch, looked out the window and I [saw] flames out the window. I ran out of the house and immediately called 911,” she said.

Hope says it happened fast. From smelling the smoke to running out of the house, only about 5 minutes passed.

Now, she’s dealing with the aftermath. The home is destroyed. Hope is getting help from the American Red Cross and family.

She lost all of her clothes and most of her possessions, able to save just a few personal items.

“My brother was able to grab my sister and my mom’s urns because they passed away. He grabbed pictures,” she said.

In all this loss just days after Christmas, Hope says she’s thankful.

“I am just so grateful to be here to tell the story,” she said. “In the meantime, I’m just [hopeful] something comes up so I can move in and get my life started again.”

Hope did not have insurance and urges anyone who doesn’t to get it.

Pittsburgh Public Safety officials tell us there is no update on what caused that fire.

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