Firefighters injured in Homestead blaze leave hospital
All five firefighters injured Saturday battling a Homestead blaze that heavily damaged three residences are back home and recuperating, Allegheny County officials said Monday.
Two received minor to moderate burns and injuries from falling through the first floor to the basement of one of the damaged homes, said Abigail Gardner, a spokeswoman for County Executive Sara Innamorato. They are from Munhall Volunteer Fire Company #4.
One of them might have broken ribs, Gardner said.
Two other firefighters suffered shoulder injuries, Gardner said. One of them was involved in the rescue of the two firefighters that fell through the floor. The fifth firefighter reported difficulty breathing at the scene.
The firefighters were not identified.
All five were hospitalized Saturday. None of their injuries was deemed life-threatening, said Steve Imbarlina, assistant chief of Allegheny County Emergency Services.
The fire displaced eight residents, Imbarlina said. None was injured.
Firefighters said that the blaze started at one building in the 200 block of 17th Avenue in Homestead and then migrated to two other structures closer to McClure Street.
The blaze grew to a five-alarm fire and nearly 100 firefighters responded to the scene.
Justin Vellucci is a TribLive reporter covering crime and public safety in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. A longtime freelance journalist and former reporter for the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press, he worked as a general assignment reporter at the Trib from 2006 to 2009 and returned in 2022. He can be reached at jvellucci@triblive.com.
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