Pa. Firefighters Tackle Fire at Apartment Building

March 29--Flames raced through a South Oakland apartment building Friday morning, forcing University of Pittsburgh students to flee their homes through a heavy haze of black smoke.

None of the tenants in the six-unit, 15-bedroom building on Zulema Street was injured, Pittsburgh Fire Chief Darryl E. Jones said. One firefighter cut his hand but the injury was minor, Jones said.

Many tenants were still wearing pajamas as they watched flames and smoke shoot from the roof. They said fire alarms rousted them from bed shortly before 8 a.m.

"I just grabbed my laptop, shoved it in my backpack and got out of there," said Brian DeWillie, 22, a senior at Pitt. "It was the scariest moment of my life."

The roof collapsed into the third floor and caused major damage, Jones said. Firefighters cleared apartments on the first and second floors, then "took a defensive position," Jones said, explaining that they could no longer save the building and instead focused on preventing the fire from spreading to neighboring homes.

"We were not going to risk (injury) trying to save an empty building," he said.

Neighbors reported some water damage, he said.

Jones would not speculate on what started the fire. Several tenants said they heard an explosion after they escaped and saw smoke billow through broken windows. Jones said investigators are looking into the explosion and cause.

It was the third major apartment fire city crews faced in just more than a week.

On March 21, a Shadyside man hours away from eviction set off an explosion in the nine-story Amberson Towers Condominiums. The blast and fire killed the man, Mark A. Williams, 60, and damaged 126 of the complex's 191 units.

On March Monday, firefighters used ladders to rescue 24 people when flames from a chemical fire filled the stairwell of a three-story apartment building in Garfield. Paramedics hospitalized four people with smoke inhalation and treated 10 others at the scene. One cat died in the fire.

Jones said there is nothing to suggest any connections.

"Right now, it's an unfortunate coincidence," he said.

In Dormont, four apartments atop a pizza parlor were destroyed Tuesday in an early morning fire. Nobody was injured, but the building was a total loss, officials said.

Kathy Humphrey, Pitt's Dean of Students, met with at least 16 displaced students and started the task of finding them apartments, officials said. As the building burned, the students sat in a Port Authority bus, many of them crying.

Pitt Police Chief Tim Delaney said counselors were talking with students.

"It was very scary for me," said Blair Koch, 21, who ran outside and called 911 as heavy smoke flooded her apartment. "That actually was one of my biggest fears as a kid. I used to keep a backpack ready in case I needed it."

Chris Togneri is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-380-5632 or [email protected].

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