'From Something to Nothing:' Sewickley Family Looks to Rebuild After Fire

Greg Smith and his girlfriend Yasmeen Iddeen picked through the charred remains of their former lives Friday afternoon.

Melted Easter candy. Scorched clothing. Sodden carpet, papers and furniture. All gone.

Iddeen searched the bedroom for any sign of the cash they’ve been saving, but couldn’t find remnants of green. For a moment, her creased expression changed to excitement when she found birth certificates and Social Security cards still intact inside a leather binder.

“This is all we’ve got,” Iddeen said, pointing to the clothes on her back.

“I haven’t even gotten a change of clothes yet,” Smith added.

Smith wasn’t home Thursday night and neither was Iddeen, who was working at when the fire broke out inside their bedroom at 333 Ferry St.  

Iddeen’s mother was in the living room with the couple’s 5-year-old daughter when she began smelling smoke from the room next door. She called 911 and her daughter, who said she was frantic on the drive home from work.

Hose Co. firefighters responded shortly after 7 p.m. and spent about an hour knocking out the fire, according to Fire Chief Jeff Neff.

Neff said the firefighters quickly contained the fire to the bedroom, but smoke caused damage throughout the two-story home. The fire also burned siding off one side of the home and destroyed much of the contents in the bedroom.

Everyone made it out safely, including a tenant and his pets in the back of the house.

The Allegheny County Fire Marshal is investigating, but it appears an electrical issue with a space heater could have caused the fire.

Smith said the furnace went out recently, and the family had been using a space heater to keep the place warm.

Smith said they recently relocated from Arizona so he could take care of his sick father and have lived in the house for only five months. The home had yet to be insured, he said, adding that his father owns the house with siblings. Smith said the house will have to be gutted.

In the meantime, the American Red Cross has made arrangements to help the family with temporary shelter. They are staying with neighbors in three separate homes. Iddeen said a neighbor also gave her a change of clothes. She and Smith said they welcome any assistance to help rebuild their lives.

“We went from something to nothing,” Iddeen said.