Six families escape fire at Zelienople townhouse complex

Fire damaged several townhomes in Zelienople overnight Thursday after a car caught fire in the driveway, spreading to the front of one of the homes.

Neighbors who live on Timberbrook Court said they heard a loud boom right around midnight, looked outside, and saw flames.

“My brother came in my room screaming, ‘Madi. There’s a fire. We gotta go!’ We grabbed my dog and ran outside,” said Madi Parrotto.

Madi and her brother, Nick, could only watch as flames tore through the roofs of their neighbors’ homes, with six families total having to rush out of their homes.

“Everyone was just panicking. Everyone was knocking on each other’s doors, trying to get everyone out. But the fire was just crazy. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Parrotto said.

Melissa Smith was at work and learned of the fire through her doorbell camera system.

“It’s unbelievable that a car could do that and how fast it caused these units to go up,” Smith said.

Chief Scott Garing of the Harmony Fire Department said the front of the second unit, where the car was parked, sustained the most damage, but none of the six units were a total loss. Garing said there’s a reason for that.

“It started to spread through the roof and common walls. The firewalls in the attic are what stopped it from spreading,” Garing said.

Smith, who had to deliver the news to her next-door neighbor who is out of town, said her home only sustained smoke damage and she is thankful her kids and neighbors got out safely.

“I’m good, yeah. I’m very lucky,” Smith said.

No injuries were reported. Crews at the scene told us the fire remains under investigation.

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