Four furs lose home, posessions in fire

Four furs' belongings lie in ruins today after a fire in Millvale, Pennsylvania.

The fire started early yesterday morning, possibly due to a faulty meter, and quickly spread through a common wall to the rented house of Thrashbear, Firefox, Fire Lupine and Landis.

The four-alarm blaze took two hours to quench. No injuries were reported, but the first house was gutted, and the second was badly damaged by smoke and fire suppression.

The Red Cross is assisting the occupants, and the furs have offers of temporary housing. Dobie is taking donations on the furs' behalf.

More coverage: KDKA - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - WTAE

Swift Fox, a volunteer firefighter assigned to rescuing other responders, explained how the fire spread further and faster than expected:

It sucks to see this happen to anyone. It's doubly hard when it happens to someone you know. The fire ran the attic space, assisted by the light wind, and entered the exposure through a common wall. I wouldn't dismiss balloon frame building construction to be a factor, [...] I arrived just as the first line was calling for water and from what I saw, I think the Chief felt this could have been a quick knock down.

The property was also on a hill, frustrating firefighter's attempts to reach it quickly and limiting the water supply.