Crime & Safety

Woman Dies in Aleppo Fire

A man survived but is being treated for burns at UPMC Mercy.

Authorities said they have recovered the body of an elderly woman in the ruins of an Aleppo Township house that was destroyed by a late-afternoon fire Wednesday. An elderly man suffered serious burns in the blaze.

The names of the woman and man have not been released but county tax records show the house at 101 Ferndale Ave. belonged to Arthur and Frances Hoston. Working under lights after nightfall, workers used heavy equipment to excavate the debris and locate the woman's body about four hours after fire broke out at 3:20 p.m. in the house.

A crew from the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office left the fire scene at 7:40 p.m.

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Aleppo Township Fire Chief Bill Davis Jr. said flames had engulfed the two-story house when firefighters arrived there earlier in the afternoon. The first floor collapsed, followed by the roof, leaving little of the house but smoking debris.

"We are sifting through the rubble, as you can see, trying to locate [the woman]," the chief said earlier, before crews located her body.

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The woman, who suffered from dementia, was believed to have been on the first floor of the house, Davis said. The man escaped from the burning house but suffered severe burns on his arms and face, and witnesses said neighbors pinioned and pulled him back when he tried to re-enter the house.

Neighbors Steven Dumek and Rocco Brown said they saw smoke rising from the house as they rode home on a school bus from classes at  Dumek said he saw the man behind the home and another couple restraining him to stop him from going back inside.

Brown said the school bus driver, who knows the elderly couple, stopped the bus and called 911 on a cell phone.

"It's a shame," said Dumek's mother, Heather Dumek. "They're so sweet."

As of 6 p.m., firefighters had extinguished the blaze but remained there through the evening to monitor hot spots. The man is being treated at UPMC Mercy in Pittsburgh.

The cause of the fire is undetermined. The Allegheny County Fire Marshal's office and investigators from the U.S Treasury Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also are investigating.

Fire departments from Sewickley's , Ohio Township, Ben Avon, Emsworth assisted, as well as and Quaker Valley Ambulance Authority.

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