Animals saved from home
SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — A dog and 30 show rabbits were all rescued Monday afternoon from a burning house in Rock Falls Park.
The one-story, wooden house at 147 Stoughton Beach Road was a total loss. No one was injured.
Don Gabulich, who lives nearby, said he was the first to discover that the house was on fire. He went to check for the man and woman who live there and discovered their dog. Several neighbors then came over to make sure that the rabbits, which were all in individual cages in or around the house, were safe.
“The community down here really came together. We were all pulling rabbit cages out. All the rabbits were saved, and the dog. Everything else can be replaced,” Gabulich said.
The house is owned by Paul Leasure who lived there with Alicia Shay. They were not home when the fire broke out.
It is a private road within the park, but the residents own their own houses and most live there year-round, Leasure said.
He said Monday said that the house was not insured and that he was still making plans for where they and the animals would stay. Slippery Rock Fire Chief Ken Taggart said today that the Red Cross was assisting the family, and a neighbor had agreed to temporarily house the rabbits.
The cause of the fire was unknown and a state police fire marshal was called in to investigate, Taggart said.
The damage to the house and possessions was estimated at $100,000. Two adjacent buildings suffered minor damage, but both were vacant, Taggart said.
The fire was reported around 4:45 p.m. and crews stayed at the scene for more than two hours.
Since the road does not have fire hydrants, tanker trucks had to fill up at a hydrant nearby on Harmony Road and bring water to the site.
Assisting Slippery Rock were fire departments from Pine Township in Mercer County, along with those from Harrisville, Unionville, Prospect and West Sunbury in Butler County.
