INDEPENDENCE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A firefighter is recovering in a hospital after a fire at a duplex in Washington County.
911 dispatchers said emergency crews were called to the 1600 block of Avella Road in Independence Township at 6:30 p.m.
Smoke billowed from a house as firefighters put water on it.
Flames ripped through the building and smoke billowed out of it.
Avella Volunteer Fire Chief Eric Temple said crews had to battle traffic because of a popular event happening at the nearby Little A Town Arena.
Crews were able to get the fire under control in around an hour with the help of mutual aid.
A firefighter was taken to a hospital with heat exhaustion. As of Sunday night, they were still there.
Two people lived inside the duplex and both got out safely.
A dog died, but a cat was rescued.
The cause of the fire has been deemed accidental.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCUXZC2XYZHCRGNNGKFEX6U3LQ.png)
