2 people killed, 3 homes damaged in Donora fire

DONORA, Pa. — Two people were killed in a house fire in Washington County early Sunday morning.

The fire started around 5 a.m. along McKean Avenue in Donora.

At least three homes were damaged in the fire, and several people were displaced.

A photo neighbors shared with Channel 11 shows flames pouring from the roof of one of the damaged homes.

Joe Laski, a neighbor, said the flames quickly spread to two neighboring homes.

“It was coming up about 10 feet in the air,” he said.

Washington County Coroner Tim Warco said one of the people killed in the fire, who he identifies as Tracy Honabarger, 41, had become trapped in the home. She was pronounced dead at an area hospital.

Warco identifies the second victim as Clifford Honabarger, 38.

“It’s a sad, sad day,” said Scott Nedrow, a neighbor. “Unfortunately, these things happen in life. It’s just a sad day.”

James Smith, Tracy Honabarger’s fiancé, was also inside the home at the time but was able to escape.

Smith spoke with Channel 11′s Antoinette DelBel but was too distraught to do an interview on camera. He was devastated after losing his fiancée on Christmas Eve. He said Clifford Honabarger was Tracy’s ex-husband and lived in the attic.

Smith said flames tore through their home as they were all sleeping, and he was able to escape by “the grace of God.” He said he thought Tracy was right behind him as he was running out of the house, but she became trapped on the second floor.

A neighbor tried to help before firefighters and police got there.

“One of the neighbors said he had gone out and had to knock a window down so someone can get out,” Nedrow said.

But the mother of two died a short time later at the hospital. Her children weren’t home at the time.

“It’s sad,” Laski said. “You don’t want to see that any time. It’s just really sad.”

Around a dozen agencies responded to the fire.

Donora Mayor Donnie Pavelko said this is the second fire on McKean Avenue in two weeks.

On Dec. 14, a fire destroyed an old apartment building blocks away.

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“This has been a hectic month for the fire department,” Pavelko said. “You have older houses and they pack them so close together...now we’re paying the price for it.”

Mayor Pavelko said the home where the fire broke out is a total loss.

The Donora Police Department is investigating how the fire started.

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