LATROBE, Pa. — Two dogs and a woman are safe after a home in Latrobe caught fire from a grill.
Around 30 firemen were able to respond to the house fire within 30 seconds. That’s because the home was just two blocks up the road.
“It was just, ‘Please let me find my dogs and let them be okay,’” said the homeowner, Michelle Obarto.
The home on Chambers Street in Latrobe quickly erupted in flames.
“Our first truck comes out of there. From the time of the dispatch, it was here in less than a minute,” Chief John Brasile with the Latrobe Fire Department
Now, the next day, the chief says the cause of the fire was clear.
“She left, turned the grill off, but it’s a no-no. You should be at least 6-10 feet away from a house with any kind of grill if you’re cooking,” said Brasile. “That siding right there started melting off, and that’s usually about 1500 degrees to melt aluminum siding like that.
Obarto lived in this home for over 35 years. She said all she could think about when seeing her home in flames was her two German shepherds, Arthur and Bingo.
“Somebody brought Bingo over to me right away, but Arthur, when he came out of the house, one of the firemen saw him and opened the door to the truck, and he jumped up into the firetruck,” said Obarto.
The fire was contained in about 10 minutes. Obarto said she was aware of her proximity to the fire station but hoped she’d never need it.
Although this house is a total loss, the chief said the silver lining is that everyone was able to make it out safely.
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