Apr 12, 2018 1 min read

A fire burned the back of a house Thursday in North Franklin Township but caused no injuries to the family that lives there.

It wasn’t immediately clear how the fire erupted about 3 p.m. at the house on Hamilton Street.

“Right now, all we know is the back porch was on fire,” said Chief Scott Reese of South Strabane Volunteer Fire Department, one of the departments that responded.

The fire was under control within about a half-hour. Firefighters were still checking for “hot spots” later in the afternoon but it appeared to be out.

Homeowner Ezra Hildebrand, 37, said he came home after picking his daughter up from preschool to the smell of smoke. He could see the fire through a back window.

His mother-in-law and 2-year-old son were also in the house. He said his main priority was to make sure everyone got out safely.

“You can rebuild,” said Hildebrand, a former Canonsburg volunteer firefighter. “You can’t rebuild people.”

Also at the scene were North Franklin and Washington firefighters.