2 people escape Southwest Greensburg house fire

Paul Peirce | Friday, March 19, 2021 11:42 a.m.

Courtesy of Southwest Greensburg VFD

Southwest Greensburg firefighters and neighboring departments responded to a house fire early Friday along the 400 block of Oakland Avenue.

Two Southwest Greensburg residents escaped injury early Friday after a smoke detector alerted them to a fire in a bedroom and they fled their house, according to firefighters.

Multiple area departments responded to the fire on the 400 block of Oakland Avenue at 3:35 a.m., according to Southwest Greensburg fire Chief Bill Wright Jr.

“Fortunately, we got there pretty quick and had it knocked down in about 15 minutes,” Wright said.

He said the damage was contained to a bedroom.

“We’ve been pushing recently for people to check their smoke detectors and, in this case, these residents had a fully functioning alarm that alerted them to the fire and they were able to get out safely,” Wright said.

He said the fire was caused by an electric space heater that had been placed too close to a pile of clothes.

No injuries were reported.

In addition to Southwest Greensburg, units from Crabtree, Greensburg, Hempfield and Youngwood responded.