Dog walk got couple out of the house before Mt. Pleasant fire

March 04--A husband and wife were not home when a fire broke out in their basement furnace room Sunday morning.

They were out walking their two dogs.

"We had just got to the dog park, when a neighbor called us and said our house was on fire," said Darlene Myers.

Myers and her husband, Jerry, moved to 644 S. Geary St., Mt. Pleasant, from Illinois in August 2017 for her husband's job. They are renting the one-story brick ranch house.

"Thank God we have renter's insurance," she said.

Mt. Pleasant Borough firefighters got the call at 9:30 a.m. Sunday of a house fire with possible entrapment.

When they arrived, smoke was pouring from the house, said fire Chief Jerry Lucia. They entered through a rear door and determined that the fire was in the basement.

"We knocked it down very quickly," Lucia said, noting that fire damage was limited to the furnace room. There was smoke damage throughout the house.

While the cause is still under investigation, Lucia said a gas leak may be responsible.

Also responding to the scene were firefighters from Hecla, Everson, East Huntingdon, Scottdale, Greensburg and Norvelt.

Stephen Huba is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-1280, shuba@tribweb.com or via Twitter @shuba_trib.

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