Car Fire Spreads to House in Upper St. Clair
Emergency crews had Morrow Road blocked on Saturday afternoon.
A Buick car caught on fire Saturday afternoon and spread to a home located on Morrow Road in Upper St. Clair.
Helene McNemar and her daughter, Victoria, escaped the home unharmed. Firefighters were able to get the family dog, Midnight, out of the home as well, but five cats remained inside as crews finished putting out the smoke and flames.
McNemar said she and her daughter returned home around 1 p.m. Saturday in her father's Buick. She was borrowing his car while her car was getting fixed.
As McNemar was doing laundry, she noticed a burning smell and thought it might be from the dryer lint. Soon after, her daughter yelled that the house was on fire.
The smoke and flames were contained to the car, garage and kitchen. It's unclear if anything else in the home was damaged.
McNemar lives in the home with her two daughters, Victoria and Gabrielle; her son, Dylan; and her son's fiancee, Amber. McNemar said Amber is pregnant, and was worried the fire may have ruined all the baby clothing and supplies they had purchased for the baby, who is due at the end of January.
Emergency officials blocked traffic on Morrow Road from Baker Park to Mayview Road Saturday afternoon.
Victoria McNemar
9:49 pm on Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Tht was the most terrifying moment of my life!!!!!!!!!
Becky Brindle
8:30 am on Wednesday, December 14, 2011
I can only imagine! How is everything going now? Are your cats OK? Are all the baby clothes/supplies OK?
Helene McNemar
11:01 am on Wednesday, December 21, 2011
We were able to find all of the cats and re-home 3 of them. The other 2 are with my brother and his wife until we can move back home. The dog who was trapped in the house is fine and with us at our new location. The frog and the fish were both ok too. We are going to be washing to baby clothes over the week between Christmas and New Years. It's the laundry detergent that is the big expense here. All the clothes were in drawers and do not appear to have suffered any smoke damage but we will rewash everything to make sure. The contractor is supposed to wash down all the furniture over the next week so we will see what is salvagable after that. The only items in the garage as far as I can remember were the new stroller, the pack n play and swing that were all still in their boxes but the pregnancy crisis center has already given us another stroller and swing. They have been absolutely wonderful. I want to thank everyone who helped us and all the prayers that have been sent up for us. Until you have been through something like this, you can't even comprehend the turmoil that goes on inside you. Every time I hear a fire engine or see one, I pray for whoever needs it and for the wellbeing of the firefighters onboard.
Becky Brindle
1:28 pm on Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Thanks for the update, Helene. I know a lot of people were worried about you guys. Hopefully you can still have an enjoyable holiday! Is there an email address you can provide for people who may want to give you guys some laundry detergent?