Nearby: One Injured in Moon Townhouse Blaze

Moon crews respond to a house fire.

One woman was taken to UPMC Mercy Hospital with a burn injury following a house fire today on Pillar Drive.  Moon Police Officer James Kazmierczak said the woman suffered a burned hand in the blaze, which ignited in an upstairs bedroom. Kazmierczak said the home at 161 Pillar, one in a block of townhomes on the street, was heavily damaged. Firefighters said that flames raged up through the building's roof.  Moon Fire Chief John Scott said the injured woman attempted to put out a fire burning in a bedroom mattress.  Five people were in the home at the time of the incident. Each escaped before emergency personnel arrived.  Crews--including Cochran Hose Co. from Sewickley--responded to the fire at 11:24 a.m., the officer said. Each of the …

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Santa to Visit the Cochran Hose Fire Station

The free holiday celebration includes crafts, snacks and a chance to visit with Santa.

  Cochran Hose Company will host the department’s third annual "Santa at the Station" Christmas event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday. Fire Chief Jeff Neff said there will be plenty of crafts for the kids and, best of all, Santa Claus will be there on the 1927 fire truck. “People can visit and tell Santa what they have on their wish lists,” Neff said. Visitors may have their pictures taken with the jolly fellow while partaking in one of his favorite snacks: cookies with drinks. The event is free, although donations are welcome, Neff said. A silent auction will take place. Several gift baskets will be raffled off, with the grand prize being a ride for a family on the fire truck with Santa between now and Christmas. "Santa at the Station" …

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Monday Musings with Alie

An Official Farewell to an Edgeworth Treasure

The historic home at 420 Oliver Road that burned in a September fire will be demolished, leaving the lot -- and its neighbors’ hearts -- empty.

Last Sept. 15 was a beautiful end-of-summer day. It was the kind of day you really savor because you don’t know how many you’ll have left that season. As I sat in the living room of my parents’ house that afternoon, I noticed smoke billowing around our neighbor’s house at 420 Oliver Road. By the time I walked outside to get a better look, a gray cloud of fog encompassed the house. We soon found Kay and Roger Wiegand, our dearest friends, and their grandson, Jack, standing in front of their beloved home, helplessly watching it burn. Assuming the fire had only taken over the kitchen, we were confident that the firefighters would have it under control quickly. At the sight of flames blazing from the roof hours later, there was nothing to do …

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Sewickley Fire Department Offers Holiday Safety Tips

As season winds down, keep that tree watered

Your Christmas holidays may not have been complete without those chestnuts roasting on an open fire, a real evergreen tree dripping with twinkling lights, or candles to light festive displays. But as the season winds down, public safety officials in Sewickley, Edgeworth, Leetsdale and other nearby communities caution you to remember that those Yuletide traditions still can create dangerous situations if you don't take precautions to keep your home safe. Think candles that flicker too close to curtains -- and ignite them. Or chimneys that haven't been cleaned since last year -- and catch fire from birds' nests that have been built on screens inside them, or old firewood that is covered in creosote.  Most dangerous of all? Those dried-out …

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