Neighbor alerts family about blaze
WINFIELD TWP — A fast-acting, observant neighbor working in his yard Sunday night noticed a neighbor’s van on fire next to their house on Keasey Road in Cabot. He quickly alerted the family, called 911 and then hopped in his tractor to help tow the burning vehicle away from the home.
“I was out here working and caught sight of a glow. There was a van on the side of the house that had caught on fire,” said Bill Jones, who rushed across the yard to his neighbor’s home to get them out of the house.
The blaze broke out at 246 Keasey Road around 9:30 p.m. Sunday at a modular home on a foundation owned by John McCabe. He and his son were home at the time and escaped unharmed.
McCabe and his family were surrounded by neighbors, friends and family gathered in their backyard late Sunday night. Several offered places to stay, clothes and any other help they could.
Capt. Mike Krchelich of the Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company said the side of the home caught fire as a result of the burning van. He said McCabe told him the van hadn’t run in several weeks. It is unclear what caused the fire, but Krchelich said it could have been a short in the van’s electrical system.
According to Krchelich, the blaze got into the wall of the modular home and quickly traveled up the walls and into the ceiling of the home.
“It’s hard to say at this point what the extent of the damage is,” Krchelich said. “There was extensive roof damage.”
More than 60 volunteer firefighters responded from five volunteer fire companies, while a sixth department from Middlesex Township, provided stand-by coverage. Krchelich said that in addition to Saxonburg, fire companies from Herman, Sarver, and Buffalo and Penn townships also responded to the scene.
