SEVEN SPRINGS, Pa. --
A flue fire broke out in one of the condos at Seven Springs Resort early Sunday morning. Two people were unable to escape the blaze.
Matt Doherty and his friends were on a ski trip. They were staying only a few doors down from where the flames broke out just after 1 a.m.
"We were down at the lodge and heard the fire was up here. So we came up and there were 30 or 40 trucks, and people were just everywhere. It was a mad scramble," said Doherty.
Sixteen fire companies from Somerset, Westoreland and Fayette counties responded to the scene. Fire officials said just getting to the fire was difficult as they manuevered the engines around a car accident, a lot of skiers and hazardous roads.
When fire crews went door to door, they thought everyone was out of the 12 units. But officials said it was too dangerous to enter some of the units, like the one where 26-year-old Sasha Zuro and 22-year-old Jonathan Murt from Belle Vernon were still inside.
Crews battled the blaze for six hours and saved half of the units.
Mike Philibin and his wife own one of the units. Fortunately, they decided not to stay overnight, but were back on Sunday to assess the damage.
"We're getting what we can get, because we don't know what's going to happen," said Philibin.
Officials said there were smoke detectors in the condo, but no sprinklers.
The Somerset County Coroner said Murt and Zuro died from smoke inhalation.
Fire officials said they were still investigating, but they are ruling it an accident.
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