House destroyed in Washington fire, 2 families displaced

WASHINGTON, Pa. — A house in the City of Washington is destroyed after flames were seen shooting out from its side around 3:00 Tuesday afternoon.

PHOTOS: Thick smoke fills air while crews battle Washington house fire

The house on East Maiden Street is broken into two apartments and two families are now displaced.

Neighbor Elijah Emerick first spotted the flames on his home security camera.

He just happened to check the camera while he was at work.

“When I first saw that, I was thinking it wasn’t going to be pretty. They were some pretty big flames,” Emerick said.

Before rushing home, he called 911 and alerted his fiancée, Dakota Martin.

“I looked out the window and it’s just engulfed. It’s really sad,” Martin said. “[It was] nothing but flames and smoke and windows bursting out. It was really hot.”

The heat of the flames even busted out a window of a house next door.

That window was just feet away from the burning home.

“I saw smoke billowing out, fire and everything just billowing out,” described neighbor Gloria Catlin. “I was praying the people weren’t there.”

Thankfully, public safety officials said no one was home when the fire started and no one was hurt.

The Red Cross is helping both displaced families.

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