PITTSBURGH — Fire officials are investigating after neighbors saw flames coming out of the back of a two-story house on Karl Street in Pittsburgh’s East Hills neighborhood Sunday morning.
Bradley Kemp, Jr. was the first to rush over to the house when he saw the smoke and flames.
“I couldn’t find the smoke and then I got on my dirt bike and rode around,” Kemp said. “Then, I called 911 when I got here.”
Kemp took cell phone video showing the frantic moments he risked his life to make sure no one was inside the burning home.
“I kicked the door in because I was banging on the door,” Kemp said. “When nobody answered, I kicked the door.”
He quickly walked through the house and realized it was empty.
“All these houses keep catching on fire and we trying to stop it,” said Kemp.
Shawnte Amaker lives behind the home on Sickles Street. She told Channel 11’s Antoinette DelBel her dog woke her up.
“He woke me up and was sniffing in the air, and I thought our house was on fire because I smelled the smoke so strong,” she said. “When I looked outside it was just smokey.”
Neighbors said the house has sat empty for a while.
“It makes people worry,” Amaker said. “Is it an electrical wiring problem with these older houses or is it intentional?”
They said this isn’t the first home in the area that’s caught fire. Last month, flames tore through a home on nearby Sickles Street.
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At the start of the year, a house on Singer Place was destroyed by fire.
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“I don’t know,” Amaker said. “It’s like these houses are catching on fire. I don’t understand how.”
Fire Chief Darryl Jones said they’re investigating how the latest fire started and if it’s arson.
The fire has a lot of damage to the back of the house. The siding melted off.
“I want them to think about the community and people that live close to these houses and the danger you’re putting people in,” said Amaker.
First responders said no one was hurt.
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