CROSS CREEK TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A Washington County family’s home was destroyed in an early morning fire Tuesday. Patricia Boggs says she woke up at 3 a.m. and saw the flames were rolling.
“I could feel my throat burning and I could see orange,” Boggs tells Channel 11. “I just started yelling for everybody to get up, there’s a fire, to get out.”
Boggs says she immediately went into her son’s room. He has autism and didn’t understand what was happening.
“I grabbed his leg and said, ‘We gotta go, gotta go.’”
She helped her boyfriend escape too. He’s an amputee who uses an electric wheelchair. He didn’t have time to grab his prosthetic. Boggs also grabbed Duke, her son’s service dog, but they couldn’t get to their two cats.
“When we got on scene here, the fire was coming out of the back of the roof and pretty much the whole back side of the house was on fire,” Chief Brandon Kriznik with the Smith Township Fire Department said.
Kriznik says a wood burner in the basement was being used at the time and crews faced a significant challenge.
“We have no hydrants here, so we had to call for tankers for water,” Kriznik said.
When the sun rose on Tuesday, you could see the roof had caved in, the wood frame of the home was charred and the siding melted near the chimney.
Crews were back out on Maple Road Tuesday afternoon after the fire rekindled.
“God was protecting us for sure and got everybody out because my son didn’t understand what to do,” Boggs said. “He’s not going to understand that he can’t come back home.”
Moving into a new home, even temporarily, is going to be a huge challenge for the family. Boggs’ outfitted the entire house for her son, including his bedroom which is wrapped in mats and has skylights instead of windows for his safety.
Patricia Boggs’ boyfriend was treated at Allegheny General Hospital for smoke inhalation.
Her 17-year-old daughter just picked up her prom dress. The dress was also lost in the fire.
A GoFundMe has been set up to support the family. If you would like to help, click here.
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