Fire heavily damages Cecil home
A Cecil Township family was apparently at a picnic at a neighbor’s home in the Pristine Fields development Saturday night when another neighbor called 911 to report seeing smoke coming out of the front door of their home.
Paul Smith, chief of the Cecil No. 2 (Muse) Fire Department, said he was told Dan Zenger and his family were a few doors away when another neighbor reported the fire at their home at 172 Vista Drive at 8:04 p.m.
Smith said there also was a report of an alarm going off and smoke and fire were coming from the kitchen area of the residence.
“Some of us were on standby at Southpointe for a fireworks display when the call came in,” Smith said. “Some guys had stayed back at the station and headed to the fire.”
There was an initial report someone was in the home. The residents were not there, but the family dog was inside and died, Smith said.
“It is sad,” Smith said. “The two young kids who lived there just got the puppy a few days ago.”
The state police fire marshal was called to investigate, but the fire appears to have started in the kitchen, the chief said. Smith added the cause does not appear to be suspicious.
Firefighters from Muse along with Cecil No. 1 (Lawrence), Cecil No. 3 (Cecil), Canonsburg, and North Strabane Township along with the Houston Rapid Intervention Team were on the scene for about three hours.
“They did a great job,” Smith said. “No one was injured.”
The American Red Cross was called to assist the family. The family’s insurance company was contacted and the house was boarded it up. Smith said it is unclear whether the home can be repaired.
Smith said it was a busy night for his department. In addition to standing by for a fireworks display at Southpointe, they also were called late Saturday for a fire alarm at the Hilton Garden Inn in Southpointe. The alarm was set off by a hot shower when the bathroom door opened into the room.