Wednesday house fire kills cat, ferret in Armstrong County
An Armstrong County family of three lost a cat and a ferret in a Wednesday, April 30, house fire in Sugarcreek Township.
The house on Glynn Road was ruled a total loss with the fire already through the roof of the one-story ranch-style home when crews arrived, according to Jimmy Hillwig, chief of the Sugarcreek Township Volunteer Fire Department. He said the home had recently been remodeled.
Alaina Shaffer, 12, was home alone watching TV in a bedroom when she heard the hallway fire alarm activate, according to a GoFundMe started for the family by Dan Weidenhof of Fireproof–East Brady.
The girl went into the hallway smelling smoke and found the living room wall on fire, so she grabbed her phone and ran out of the house to call 911 and her parents, who were three minutes away, according to the fundraiser.
The call came in around 4:43 p.m. for a house on fire with possible entrapment. Hillwig said a lieutenant who lives down the street was able to walk down to confirm the fire, with everyone out of the house, before crews arrived.
He said state police fire marshals are investigating the cause.
The GoFundMe raised almost $500 with seven donations as of Thursday. The Coffee Shoppe and Fox’s Pizza Den in Chicora both are accepting clothing and other donations for the family.
