Two firefighters were hurt while battling a row house fire in Pittsburgh’s Homewood section overnight.
The fire started just before 3 a.m. along Hamilton and North Homewood Avenues and the three-story unit collapsed shortly afterward.
Officials tell KDKA’s Ross Guidotti at the scene that the two firefighters who were injured were positioned in front of the building when the collapse occurred.
They happened to be standing where the windows, which had been blown out during the fire, were located. Officials say the entire front of the building fell around them.
"We had a building collapse. It kind of happened almost instantaneously," said Deputy Chief Michael Mullen, of the Pittsburgh Fire Bureau. "We’ve got two firefighters who are injured. One has a leg injury, one has some injuries to his back and neck, but I don’t know the extent of them yet."
There was also a collapse at the back of the building. Crews say firefighters had been about two feet away when that happened, but were not injured.
One of the injured firefighters was taken to UPMC Mercy Hospital and the other went to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital.
The building had reportedly been vacant for eight years. The fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire.
