Crews respond to massive house fire in Shaler

SHALER TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Crews were called to the scene of a massive house fire in Shaler on Monday evening.

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Fire Capt. Nick Skalos with the Cherry City Vol. Fire Company said the fire started in the garage, which is completely destroyed, but he said the home can be fixed.

A fireball exploded from the garage on North Hawthorne Road and the car inside began to burn. Those flames quickly spread to the home as thick, heavy smoke poured out of the roof.

“I saw a huge fire, huge flames, a lot of smoke,” said Brooks Blasko, who lives up the road.

The fire broke out around 5:30 p.m. It took several fire companies a couple of hours to get the flames under control. A water main also broke on North Hawthorne Road while firefighters were working on the fire.

“It was a lot of hidden fire in the walls, so we had a hard time finding it, but the guys worked really hard and knocked it out in a decent amount of time,” Skalos said.

The couple and their dog who live there weren’t home at the time. A neighbor and their mailman who saw the smoke coming from the garage, thought maybe the dog was inside.

That neighbor then told Channel 11′s Antoinette DelBel that he and the mailman busted the door down as the flames were spreading. Thankfully, they were able to escape once they realized the dog wasn’t there.

“The homeowners are lucky enough to have good neighbors and relatives close by so they’re going to be well taken care of tonight,” Skalos said.

Neighbors said the homeowners are in shock but grateful to see at least some of their memories - photos of them and their family - were saved.

“I’m glad the community is rallying around homeowners especially this time of year with the holidays,” said Skalos.

The next-door neighbor said the couple is staying with them tonight.

No firefighters were hurt. Three of them were checked out on the scene for dehydration but are okay.

The fire marshal is still investigating the cause of the fire, which could take days or weeks.

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