The fast-moving blaze that engulfed a three-story home in the 300 block of East Ninth Avenue in Tarentum on Thursday started in the kitchen, according to fire officials.
Two firefighters were injured, but discharged from Allegheny Valley Hospital within hours.
Residents in the home were able to safely exit. The American Red Cross provided assistance to five adults who lost their home, said Lisa Landis, spokeswoman for Red Cross, Greater Pennsylvania Region.
The agency gave the fire victims shelter in local hotels and other resources for immediate needs. The Red Cross will also work with the victims on recovery planning and to find alternate housing, Landis said.
The official cause of the blaze was unattended cooking in the kitchen on the first floor, said Matt Brown, chief of the Allegheny County Department of Emergency Services.
According to the Pennsylvania Office of the State Fire Commissioner, cooking fires are the number one cause of house fires and home injuries, and unattended cooking is the leading cause of cooking fires.
The house, which was divided into three apartments, sustained extensive fire damage, Brown said.
The old-style “balloon” construction of the wood frame of the house made it easy for the fire to spread quickly from the first floor kitchen to all three floors of the house, said Highland Hose fire Chief Terry Chambon.
In houses built in the balloon style, there are no fire stops built between floors. That allows fire to race up the building between to facade in interior walls.
Firefighters worked on putting out the fire for about two hours.
Tarentum’s Highland Hose led about eight volunteer fire companies on the scene, including Tarentum’s other two departments, all three from Harrison, Brackenridge’s Pioneer Hose and Lower Burrell No. 3.
