SALEM TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A 22-year-old man was killed in a fire early Friday morning in Salem Township.
The fire broke out just after 1 a.m. at a duplex on Fennel Street.
Ice covered the home amid sub-zero wind chills in the double digits after firefighters battled the flames, which quickly engulfed the home.
“It was really a working fire when we got here. Heavy fire out the first floor into the second floor,” Forbes Road Fire Chief Bob Rosatti said.
Jeremy Rugh became trapped in the home and was unable to escape, according to the Westmoreland County coroner. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Rugh, who officials said had special needs, was pronounced dead at the scene. His parents were able to make it out of the home.
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Mary Ann Huey lived next door in the duplex, which had to be torn down after the fire.
“All of a sudden, the smoke alarm went off. I looked around and I had a hard time seeing the bottom of the stairs. I wanted to go outside because I didn't know where the smoke was coming from,” Huey said.
A paramedic carried Huey to safety. She had wanted to go back into the home to get her cat, but neighbors screamed for her not to.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but witnesses said it began on the first floor, officials said.
Firefighters battled two other fires in Westmoreland County within a matter of hours, including one that destroyed two homes in a senior living community.