LATROBE, Pa. — Months after the death of a Westmoreland County family's teenage daughter, they lost everything they owned in a house fire.
Three family members were in the Latrobe home at the time of the fire and barely got out in time.
"It's just so hard going through my sister's death at 17, then being left with nothing except what I have in a dorm room," said Chelsea Bolish, 19.
It was early Saturday morning when the house caught fire as Bolish's mother, father and 17-year-old brother were sleeping; she attends a nearby college and wasn't home.
She told Channel 11 her mother woke up, smelled smoke and screamed to wake up her brother.
"He opened the door and he got blown with smoke," Bolish said. "He hurried up and shut the door and jumped out his window."
She said her brother then kicked out the air conditioner in their parents' window, and then he and their mother jumped off the roof.
"They didn't think he made it. Then a few seconds later, they saw him diving through the window," Bolish said. "About 30 seconds later, the house blew up. All the windows blew, so they got out just in time."
Bolish and her family had already planned a benefit for next weekend to celebrate her sister's life, but now they also hope to raise money to help them get back on their feet, since they lost everything in the fire.
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The joint fundraiser will be held Saturday, Oct. 27, at Cooperstown Club in Latrobe.
Bolish told Channel 11 her dad is still recovering from his burns at UPMC Mercy.
Her mother was treated and released, and her brother was not injured.
Cox Media Group
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