A fire that moved through row houses in Rankin was made more difficult to fight after a ladder truck came in contact with a powerline Wednesday.
Chopper 11 was over the fire as flames shot out windows of several houses on Mound Street around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.
"I saw the fire so I started banging on every door down the road. I got him out and got another guy, Lionel, out," Tom Grate, who lives in one of the houses said.
Investigators said one of the homeowners realized his living room was on fire. His phone wasn’t working, so he drove to the fire department about a block away.
"I’m not feeling too good. I’ve got to find a place to stay," Derek Thomas said.
Thomas is one of 11 people who lost their home.
Four of the eight row houses had major damage, some only had smoke and water damage.
"This is hard. It’s right next to Thanksgiving. I have muscular dystrophy. All my medicine is in the house, that’s gone. My wheelchair is gone. I worked so hard for everything, now everything’s just gone," Anthony Carter said.
One of the ladder trucks came in contact with a power line when firefighters began focusing their attack on the outside of the homes.
Witnesses heard loud cracks of electricity.
"We were extraordinarily lucky…that nobody was electrocuted during that time," Allegheny County Emergency Chief Bob Full said.
The cause of the fire has not been released, but it is believed to be accidental.
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