NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. — One person is dead and several first responders were taken to a hospital after a house fire in New Kensington on Thursday.
The fire in the 1100 block of Strawn Avenue broke out just before noon on Thursday.
Westmoreland County emergency dispatchers confirm that one person was killed in the fire. Coroner Tim Carson identified that person as Amy L. Seguiti.
“Within six minutes, first engine was on scene and the crews made an aggressive attack,” said New Kensington Police Chief Ed Saliba.
Saliba said the fire was out in 26 minutes. The coroner said Seguiti was found dead after the fire was out.
“It was a very bad fire. The second floor received a lot of damage,” Saliba said. “The fire gutted out the front bedroom and the upstairs common area outside of the bedroom. The first floor received a good bit of water and heat damage.”
The fire chief said two cats were rescued, but he wasn’t sure about a third. The fire also caused several injuries to first responders. One police officer was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation, and two firefighters were taken in for minor burns.
“They were steam burns on their arms, and they had full protective clothing on; no skin was exposed, but the fire was a very hot fire,” Saliba said.
Saliba said a lot of that was because of the wind. It made the fire more intense and harder to fight.
“The wind created a flow path for the fire and its intensity just went against us,” he said.
Channel 11′s Andrew Havranek spoke with one of Seguiti’s friends off camera. She was crying and said she was going to see Seguiti Thursday night when she started her shift at a local bar at 4 p.m.
She said the loss is devastating.
The coroner will do an autopsy. The state fire marshal’s office is investigating the cause of the fire.
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