PITTSBURGH — Nine families were forced out of their homes by a fire that broke out Sunday morning in Millvale.
Firefighters responded to the call around 7:45 a.m. on Sample Street.
"I saw flames shooting from the side of the house first, then firefighters started coming and trying to contain the fire," said Yolanta Minta, neighbor.
There were a total of 18 volunteer companies from 10 municipalities and four City of Pittsburgh companies on the scene.
Multiple areas of collapse were reported between the eight impacted units.
Ilona Alrabadi isn't usually home on Sunday mornings but she was the first one to call 911 after discovering the fire.
"It was scary," Alrabadi said. "It was scary, devastating and horrible."
After dialing 911, Alrabadi ran over to pound on doors, alerting neighbors to get out. She feared that a mother and children would be inside.
The Red Cross reported that they are assisting 13 adults and four children who were impacted by the fire.
None of the impacted families had renter's insurance.
Brittany Nard lived there for three years. She was among one nine families who lost their homes in Sunday's fire.
"You have to dig through drywall and black mud to get through," Nard said.
For Nard, losing some irreplaceable items is what hurts the most.
"Electronics I could care less about," Nard said. "It's the stuff that people I love bought me."
"It's sad. It's Mother's Day. Everybody wants to wake up, go to breakfast, go to church and go visit their mom and everything, and you have to wake up to this," said Dontea Posey, neighbor.
One firefighter was taken to the hospital and treated for burns.
The Allegheny County Fire Marshal's office is investigating to figure out how and where the fire could have started.
North Hills Community Outreach (NHCO) has partnered with the American Red Cross and the Borough of Millvale to help the families displaced by the fire,
NHCO is an official donation site for the families and can accept cash, gift cards and checks. Gift cards for places, such as Target, Kmart, Wal-Mart or grocery stores, will be accepted. Checks should be made payable to NHCO and mailed or delivered to 416 Lincoln Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15209 or 1975 Ferguson Road, Allison Park, PA, 15101.
Online donations may be made at
[ http://nhco.org/donate/financial-donations/ ]
.
For more information, please call the NHCO Millvale office at 412-408-3830 or visit the
or website at
[ nhco.org ]
.