Fire destroys mobile home
EVANS CITY — A mail carrier pulled a dog from a burning mobile home and resuscitated it Friday before the home became engulfed in flames.
The home at 148 Pioneer Road caught fire shortly after 10 a.m.
Members of the Pearce family, husband Drew, wife Cindy and two children, were not home at the time. The son, 10, was at school while the daughter, 3, was at a doctor's appointment.
U.S. Postal Service employee Jo Amerson said she noticed smoke coming from the mobile home when she approached it to deliver mail.
She noticed a family car in the driveway and assumed that people were inside. That's when she jumped into action.
Amerson said she and a neighbor broke several windows and eventually broke down a back door to the residence. That's when she pulled the unconscious dog, a German shepherd, from the home and revived it using CPR.
“Not bad for a postal worker,” she said.
Drew Pearce, who was at work when the fire started, came back to the mobile home and stood outside watching it burn to the ground.
“The family is good,” he said. “Everything else can be replaced.”
He also said the family dog was a bit shaken-up but was expected to be fine.The Pearce family has lived there for 18 years. The property is owned by the Ifft family.Smoke could be seen for miles outside of Evans City as flames quickly consumed the trailer.“I can't believe it went up so quick,” Amerson said.Fire crews extinguished the flames in about 30 minutes.Firefighters said they couldn't immediately determine the cause of the blaze, and added that a state fire marshal had been called.The home has been deemed a complete loss.The family will stay with relatives in the area, according to Drew Pearce. A family car also was destroyed.Items to help the family will be received at the Evans City Fire Department from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Sunday. Clothing, gift cards and other gifts are suggested.Firefighters from Callery, Evans City, Harmony and Zelienople responded to the fire.
