Online fundraiser launched to help victims of Monongahela house fire
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
An online fundraiser is helping the Monongahela family whose house was heavily damaged by fire less than a week before Christmas.
The GoFundMe website that was launched shortly after an early-morning fire Wednesday damaged the two-story home at 432 Park Ave. had already raised more than $3,000 by Thursday afternoon.
Afton Rosenwald of Canonsburg, who organized the fundraising drive, said the home belonged to his sister, and that she and her three children made it out safely.
“Unfortunately, some pets were lost. Not much is left,” he wrote in the post. “With it being so close to Christmas, I just simply ask for any donation or help possible. Thank you!”
Neither the GoFundMe page nor fire investigators have released information on the family members who escaped fire, although Washington County tax assessment property records identify the homeowner as Kimber Leigh Credo.
The family apparently had to escape the fire by going out a second-story bedroom window. They then awaited rescue by firefighters while huddled on a roof over the front doorway. A rope ladder designed for escaping fires could be seen swinging outside the upstairs window Wednesday afternoon.
The mother and her three children were taken to Penn Highlands Mon Valley Hospital for treatment of minor injuries, and all have since been released. It’s not known where the family is currently staying or whether the house can be restored.
Monongahela firefighters did not respond to messages seeking comment on the blaze. However, Washington County emergency dispatchers said crews were sent to the fire shortly after 4 a.m.
Trooper Kenneth Sherman, the state police fire marshal who is investigating the blaze, said Thursday the fire appears to have started in the kitchen, although he indicated it is too early to determine what caused it.