Man smells smoke, gets himself and two children out of Pittsburgh home

PITTSBURGH — Everyone is safe after a rowhome in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood caught fire Tuesday morning.

No one lived in the Bennett Street rowhome where the fire started, but a man and his two children live in the unit adjacent to it and were awakened by the smell of the fire around 4:30 a.m.

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Battalion Chief Richard Brutt said fires like this one often present a challenge, and it could've been much worse if the man hadn't been aware of what was happening.

"Anytime you have a vacant building or structure, the fire can get a good headway because it goes unreported for a long time, so we're very fortunate somebody caught this early," Brutt said.

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There wasn't much damage to neighboring homes.

Firefighters got the fire out fairly quickly, but the family wasn't allowed back in to see how much damage was done to their home.

“There was a lot of smoke, so it made it hard for the crews to gain entry, but once they got in and ventilated it and opened some windows up, it cleared up fairly quickly,” Brutt said.

The fire rekindled later in the morning and was again put out.

Fire investigators are working to determine what caused the fire.

Cox Media Group