Victims recall man going door-to-door to alert neighbors of fire in Bloomfield

PITTSBURGH — A neighbor went door to door, making sure everyone was out safely as a large fire burned through buildings in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood on Sunday.

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Channel 11 talked with him and his neighbors, who were thanking him for helping to save their lives.

PHOTOS: Crews respond to massive fire in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood

“My father-in-law called emergency services, and I tried to grab a fire extinguisher and go over there. It was too big by that point, so we just started knocking on neighbors’ doors and made sure everyone was out,” said the anonymous neighbor who helped alert people to the fire.

The man’s knocking helped save 12 people from a four-alarm fire Sunday afternoon on Penn Avenue.

On Monday, debris continued to fly off of a home a day later as neighbors worked to clean up the ashy mess.

“I knew to run,” said Ed Howe, who had to stay in his car overnight. “I looked out the back window, and it was about five feet away from my face, and it was like grab something and go. Run!”

Katie Cincotti also survived the fire.

“We had heard our neighbor knocking downstairs. Luckily, our downstairs neighbor woke up to the knocks,” Cincotti said.

Cincotti and Nick Pennock live in the home where the fire originated. She says the home is a total loss. She shared photos of what her room looks like today. Nick was at work when he saw the smoke from his home and started running towards the fire.

“I had no idea where it was coming from, the extent it had made it into the house and what would be left,” said Pennock. “I didn’t make it into the house at all. All I had was the clothes I was wearing to work, my wallet, and my keys.

Cars still remain vacant and covered in debris, as many keys were lost in the flames. The 12 fire victims are now receiving help from the Red Cross as they work to rebuild their lives.

There is still no clear cause of the fire.

Click here to donate to the victims of the fire.

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