Woman rescued as fire burned through apartments in West View

WEST VIEW, Pa. — A woman was rescued as a fire burned through a small apartment building in West View on Wednesday.

Flames were first reported just before 11 a.m. on Oakwood Avenue.

Firefighters were seen using a ladder truck to reach the roof of the building.

“I was upstairs on a zoom for my school. The window was open upstairs so I smelled some smoke,” 15-year-old Gianna Reed said. “These bright red flames and orange started coming out the bottom. I ran downstairs called 911.”

The apartment building across the street from Reed’s house was on fire and she wasn’t the only one quick to help.

“We were just screaming for everybody to get out. All the neighbors were out screaming,” Toni Reed, Gianna’s mother, said. “They ran down the front steps and out the front door. As soon as they got across the street the door exploded and the flames went upstairs.”

When firefighters

showed up someone was still inside. They found a woman who lives on the first floor in her kitchen.

The woman was pulled from the building was listed in critical condition.

“She was rescued she was breathing at the time. They got her Mercy Hospital and the doctors said she is in critical condition at this point,” West View Police Lt. Matthew Holland said.

It’s not clear where the fire started or how.

But the seven people that lived inside this building are getting help from the entire community.

“two of the people that lived in that building are like my kids grandparents. So they will be with us,” Toni Reed said. “Everyone will get through it but it’s terrifying. We take care of each other. We’ve already had neighbors come out providing dinner for all the people that have been affected.”

A firefighter has some burns on his hands from the fire and had some issues with smoke, but he is doing okay now.

The American Red Cross is helping all of the victims.

RAW: West View apartment fire

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