Plum family of 3 left homeless by midday house fire Sunday

March 31--A resident suffered minor burns in a fire Sunday that caused heavy damage to a house in Plum.

The homeowner, Debra Lilac, said she was at church when the fire started at her house on Pikeview Drive. Her oldest son, 23, was home at the time and her other son, 17, arrived to see smoke coming from the house.

They attempted to put the fire out with a fire extinguisher and water, but it quickly grew too big.

Both sons and the family dog were able to get out safely, but the older son had to be taken to Forbes Hospital in Monroeville for minor burns to his hand.

"He had a space heater on and he had just gotten out of the shower and the room started to catch fire," she said.

Jeff Currie, assistant chief with the Unity Fire Department, said crews arrived around 12:20 p.m. They were able to get the fire under control in about 20 minutes after struggling initially to make entry into the home.

Currie said the Allegheny County Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the cause of the fire. He couldn't speculate on if the space heater was the cause.

The chief said the second floor sustained heavy smoke and fire damage and the first floor sustained water damage.

He said two firefighters had to be evaluated at the scene, but were fine.

Lilac has lived in the home for about 25 years. She said she was just glad everyone got out safely.

She said she has insurance and wills stay with friends and family in the meantime.

"It'll all work out," she said. "I'm just thankful, very thankful, he came home when he did and everybody's OK."

Emily Balser is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Emily at 412-871-2369, emilybalser@tribweb.com or via Twitter .

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