CONNOQUENESSING — An early morning fire in the borough left four people homeless and one hospitalized. Four family pets were killed in the blaze.

The state police crime unit is investigating the fire — labeled as suspicious — that started shortly before 4 a.m. at a mobile home in the 1200 block of Route 68.

The state police fire marshal and the Connoquenessing Volunteer Fire Department also are investigating the cause of the blaze, which was not immediately known.

Robert Gongloff, 50, was flown by medical helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital after he escaped the fire. He suffered smoke inhalation, according to Lou Zimmerman, chief of the Connoquenessing fire department.

Three other people in the house escaped without injury. They are identified as Gongloff's 28-year-old girlfriend whose name was not immediately available; Gongloff's 26-year-old son, Robert Gongloff Jr.; and Gongloff's mother, Janet Gongloff, who owns the house.

Authorities said all four were sleeping when the fire started, apparently in the back bedroom used by Gongloff and his girlfriend.

Next-door neighbor Dustin Kriess was awakened from sleep by screaming outside. He looked outside and saw the fire.

“I put on my boots and ran down there,” he said.

The Gongloff family was yelling and crying for their two dogs and two cats that were trapped in the burning home, and frantically trying to save the animals.

The elder Robert Gongloff at one point apparently got back into the burning trailer before retreating, neighbors said. Moments later, he grabbed a garden house and shot water on the home.

The home was destroyed but authorities did not immediately provide a damages estimate. The property is insured.