Fire guts family home
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. today at a mobile home in the 1200 block of Route 68.
The state police fire marshal and the Connoquenessing Volunteer Fire Company 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 managed to escape the fire. He suffered smoke inhalation, according to Lou Zimmerman, Connoquenessing fire chief.
Three other people inside 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 home.
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.
“They were freaking out,” Kriess said of the family. “They were breaking out the windows, but that actually made things worse.”
The elder Robert Gongloff at one point apparently got back into the burning trailer before retreating, neighbors said. Moments later, he grabbed a garden hose and shot water on the home.
Flames spread and soon covered the trailer. Connoquenessing firefighters arrived and quickly surrounded the home, using an exterior attack with hose lines before moving inside.
Zimmerman later confirmed the dogs and cats died in the fire.
The home was destroyed but authorities did not immediately provide a damage estimate. The property was insured, Zimmerman said.
The Butler County chapter of the American Red Cross is assisting the family.
Kriess said Janet Gongloff had lived at the home for “a long time.” He said he believed her son moved in two or three years ago. Robert Gongloff Jr. had been living there for less than a year.
Meanwhile, around 7 a.m., screams could be heard coming from outside the home. A short time later, Robert Gongloff’s girlfriend was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital for “evaluation,” authorities said.
Zimmerman did not elaborate but noted the woman was not injured in the fire.
Police criminal investigators were unavailable for comment this morning.
