Parker Twp. fire sends homeowner to hospital
PARKER TWP — Firefighters believe a car started a fire that sent one of the homeowners to the hospital.
The wife of the couple who own the 2354 Kittanning Pike home was sent to Butler Memorial Hospital for smoke inhalation, after their garage caught fire around 7:20 p.m. Sunday, according to Eric Feicht, chief of Bruin Volunteer Fire Department.
“The garage was fully engulfed when we got there,” Feicht said. “It was an attached garaged. The fire escalated into parts of the residence.”
The first firefighters on the scene encountered heavy smoke venting from a garage overhead door, another door, windows and the gable, according to Feicht.
A total of 14 fire departments from four counties responded.
Feicht said the home was just south of the Butler and Armstrong county line. He said no firefighters were injured.
Feicht said his crew returned to service after about 3½ hours.
“We got it knocked down fairly quickly, but there was a tremendous amount of overhaul,” Feicht said. “We had to go throughout the entire home to check for extension.”
Feicht said he was fairly certain the SUV that was parked in the garage was the ignition point of the fire, but there will be further investigation to prove that theory.
The car and garage saw the worst of the damage from the flames, but even a car in the driveway outside the garage was also damaged by the heat, according to Feicht. He said the house saw major smoke damage and some heat damage.
“The garage is probably totaled, but the house is salvageable,” Feicht said.
The home was insured, and the Red Cross provided assistance to the homeowners.
The Bruin, Parker, Eau Claire, Petrolia, Chicora, North Washington, West Sunbury and Butler Township volunteer fire departments from Butler County responded along with five departments from Clarion County, one from Venango County and one from Armstrong County. Karns City Regional Ambulance Service and an ambulance from Clarion County responded.
