Firefighters tackle flames at Duquesne house

Firefighters had to use chainsaws as they battled a Duquesne house fire near a Boys and Girls Club on Thursday night.

Several companies responded to the Mulberry Alley blaze, including crews from Homestead, Munhall, West Miffline and Duquesne.

The fire began in the basement around 7:30 p.m., Duquesne fire Chief Andrew Fedor said. The house and a car in the garage are destroyed.

"Within seconds, it got really smoky," said Shawnda Little-Dreher, who was driving by when she saw the fire. "The car was just filled with the smoke on the inside. We had to back up and pull out."

A man who lives in the home was not there when the fire began. No one was injured.

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The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.

With the Boys and Girls Club so close, neighbors were concerned.

"I heard all the fire trucks and that," said neighbor John Grey. "And then I looked out my upstairs window and I seen a bunch of smoke pouring out and then I came outside. Seen all the trucks and seen that building on fire because I thought it was the Boys and Girls Club."

Cox Media Group