By Amanda Gillooly

Staff writer

agillooly@observer-reporter.com

CANONSBURG - With tears brimming in her eyes, Carmela Compeggie said she just didn't know if this Christmas could be a merry one.

A fire Thursday night forced Compeggie, 90, and her husband, Mario, 87, out of the Canonsburg home where they have lived for more than 60 years.

"We're both still in shock," Carmela Compeggie said Friday.

Canonsburg fire Assistant Chief Tim Solobay said the couple were in their downstairs living room watching television when the fire erupted in an upstairs bedroom.

He said the Compeggies were whisked out of the house at 626 Highland Ave. by neighbors and police. They stayed the night with neighbors, Solobay said.

"Fire was blowing out of the windows," he said. "They were totally unaware."

The couple, as well as their daughter and great-granddaughter who live with them, now are staying with family.

Solobay said the fire, which was reported around 10:30 p.m., was contained to the second floor in about 30 minutes.

Although a fire marshal is investigating, Solobay said a space heater or extension cord could have been he cause.

He estimated the fire did about $45,000 in structural damage and between $20,000 and $25,000 in damage to the contents. The family did have insurance.

"We tried to salvage as much as we could," he said.

The Compeggies' daughter, Barb Coulter, 58, said that, unfortunately, it wasn't much.

Not only did her parents lose clothes and other personal items, but a bounty of presents intended for her 10-year-old granddaughter also went up in flames.

"We're just trying to get through it one day at a time," Coulter said.

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