Fire at Verona apartment leaves at least 6 people homeless

At least six people were left homeless Thursday evening after a fire ripped through an apartment building in Verona.

Multiple fire departments responded to the call for a fire with entrapment shortly before 5 p.m. in the 400 block of Center Avenue.

Bystanders and borough police were kicking in doors of the four-unit apartment building searching for people reported to be still inside.

Verona police officer Tom Dessell said three of the six residents were in the building when the fire broke out.

The three made it out safely but two were treated by a Lower Valley Ambulance crew for smoke inhalation, Dessell said.

Dessell said a passerby went into the burning building and helped a resident on the second floor escape. He said that same man also got two dogs out safely had been unaccounted for.

Desiree Connor of Shaler said her two daughters, ages 6 and 7, live in a first-floor apartment with her ex. Fortunately, the girls were with their mother at the time of the fire.

Connor said she came to Verona to check on her ex, who was reportedly doing OK and talking with the American Red Cross. Within hours of the fire, Connor set up a GoFundMe account to benefit her children and ex-husband, who she said “lost everything.”

The fire is believed to have started in the basement. The Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating.

The temperature was in the low 20s Thursday evening. Pittsburgh Regional Transit provided a bus to help keep people warm, including first responders and the displaced residents.

Verona Public Works salted the sidewalks and roadways as water from the fire hoses and trucks used to douse the blaze froze on the streets.

Penn Hills and Oakmont firefighters used ladder trucks to attack flames coming through the roof, part of which collapsed.

The apartment building, which is a few doors down from Patsy’s market, is believed to be a total loss.

Among the other fire companies that responded were those from Plum and Blawnox.