Nearby hydrants weren’t working properly when flames engulfed Fayette County home
Flames and smoke destroyed a house in Fayette County early Friday.
“It was burning pretty good, already up through the roof. A lot of smoke,” neighbor Donald Zack said.
Zack lives a street down from the location of the Fourth Street fire, in the small patch of Buffington.
“Firemen were up on the porch roof, and (I) heard a big explosion. I don’t know what that was. But I guess they all got out,” Zack said.
You could see the damage from Chopper 11. A major portion of the roof collapsed.
Everyone inside made it out OK thanks to a nearby neighbor who knocked on the door and called 911.
The fire was tough to put out because water was a huge issue for firefighters.
“They weren’t working. Hardly no water so they did have to bring in a bunch of tankers,” Zack said.
Nearby hydrants were not putting out enough water to douse the flames because a valve broke.
This left neighbors without water for hours and feeling uneasy about the unknown issue.
“I got relatives that live up by me. I don’t want to see it burn. It’s a patch house. They’re not worth a lot of money but still people live there,” Zack said.
Southwestern PA Water Authority told Channel 11 it flushes the hydrants twice a year and the valve must have broken sometime between spring and when the fire broke out.
Crews spent the day working to fix the valve on New Salem Road to get water fully flowing again.
Water was restored by late afternoon.
There is no word on exactly what caused the fire, but the fire chief said a state police fire marshal was called in to investigate.
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