Smoke alarm helps mother, young son escape fire in Arnold

Dec. 30--A smoke alarm helped a woman and her four-year-old son safely escape a fire that heavily damaged a two-story duplex in Arnold on Monday afternoon.

The fire in the 2000 block of Proctor Alley was reported around 2 p.m. Firefighters had it put out within about 30 minutes.

Kayla Pirozzi said she and her son Jordan had been napping in an upstairs room when a smoke alarm alerted her to the fire. She said she went downstairs and ran into a wall of smoke.

"I saw smoke, grabbed Jordan and got out of there," she said outside her residence as firefighters worked to put the fire.

Pirozzi and her son were unharmed.

Neighbors and relatives who rushed to the scene provided Pirozzi and her son with shoes and socks to wear while firefighters worked.

Authorities said they did not immediately know where the fire originated or what started it. An investigation will be conducted.

The fire destroyed Pirozzi's side of the duplex. The other side was unoccupied.

The building is owned by Joanne and Al Corradene. They also owned one of the East Deer houses that was heavily damaged Friday when a pickup crashed into a gas meter outside one home and started a fire that spread to two others.

"This is surreal," Joanne Corradene said, looking at the fire-charred white siding.

The family has insurance, Al Corradene said. Pirozzi said she didn't have renter's insurance.

The Salvation Army was meeting with Pirozzi to see what it could do to help.

Chuck Biedka is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chuck at 724-226-4711, [email protected] or via Twitter .

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