Local

Man, live-in caretaker unable to escape house fire in Industry

INDUSTRY, Pa. — Authorities said two people were killed in a house fire Wednesday morning in Beaver County.

Firefighters responded to Thomas Cronin’s home on Boyanna Drive in Industry just before 5 a.m. Wednesday when a neighbor reported flames.

Family and friends gathered at the home around noon as crews still worked to extinguish hotspots and told Channel 11 News that Cronin, 52, and his live-in caretaker, Cara Marie Crosby, 25, were nowhere to be found.

“I would have come over and did something, but I couldn’t see this side of the house,” neighbor Ron Mayo said.

Nicholas Prodonovich, Cronin’s partner in a tire recycling business, said he dropped Cronin off at the house about 3 a.m.

“He came back to tell his kids what we’ve got,” Prodonovich said.

Firefighters were eventually able to get inside the home and found Cronin and Crosby deceased.

Cronin’s oldest daughter, Carly Cronin, said her father had severe back pain and problems walking, but he recently vacationed in Florida.

“I’m happy he got out there one more time. My best childhood memories with him were there,” Carly Cronin said.

The cause of the fire and why Cronin and Crosby were unable to escape remain under investigation.