Tarentum woman escapes injury after porch roof collapses

An elderly woman was inside her Tarentum home and escaped injury when the roof of the front porch collapsed Tuesday afternoon.

It was the second home in the neighborhood where the porch collapsed in the past week, according to authorities.

Police, fire and EMS responded at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday to the home in the 500 block of East Sixth Avenue, according to an Allegheny County 911 supervisor.

The woman living in the home is in her 80s and was not hurt.

Fire officials said the house is habitable, and the woman will be allowed to return. It will be up to her to arrange to have the debris from the porch roof hauled away and for repairs to be made, authorities said.

Mike Koval, chief of the Highland Hose Company, said the cause of the collapse is under investigation, but it appears to have fallen because of age and deterioration.

“A combination of time and the weather can cause problems for these old homes,” he said. “It could have been caused by the foundation shifting or deterioration where the roof is attached to the house.”

Sara Dusch said she heard the noise when the roof fell Tuesday and immediately checked on her neighbor.

“Oh, it was loud when it fell,” she said. “Thankfully, the woman who lives there was inside and didn’t get hurt. She is such a sweet person. My sons try to help her out by cutting the grass.”

Pat Stone said she was standing outside her home across the street when the porch came down.

“I ran over to make sure she wasn’t hurt,” Stone said. “I can’t believe this is the second porch to collapse here.”

Across the railroad tracks from the home where the porch roof collapsed Tuesday is a home on East Fifth Avenue with its porch roof sitting on the ground as the result of a tractor-trailer collision last Wednesday, Koval said.