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Two people are dead, one of them a toddler, and a third being treated at a Pittsburgh hospital after a Sunday morning house fire, Fire Chief Carlo Capaldi confirmed Monday afternoon.
Capaldi said 13 people were living in the home at 1420 Orchard St. when the fire started around 11:45 a.m.
“We got the call, a report of a structure fire at that location,” he said. “When our crews got there, there was heavy fire on the first floor of the structure extending out the back to the second floor -- basically, there was heavy fire on the first floor and heavy smoke throughout the whole house when we got there.”
All three victims were on the second floor, in the rear of the house.
“About 13 people were living in this structure, so 10 of them made it out,” he said. “A number of them were outside when we got there, they said there were still a couple of people in the house, and they told us where the fire was. A lot of them got out on their own, the ones upstairs didn’t -- that’s where we found the three victims.”
Capaldi said two victims were transported to Trinity Medical Center West -- a 28-year-old woman and a 21-month-old boy -- where they died, he said. The third, age 3, was flown to Pittsburgh by medical helicopter and is listed in serious condition. Their names are not being released yet, Capaldi said.
The cause of the fire is undetermined, he said. An investigator from the state fire marshal’s office was on scene to assist with the investigation.
“All we know is it started on the first floor in the rear,” he said. “The rear in the first floor had heavy fire when we got there.”
He said firefighters were on scene for about three hours.
“Initially, Steubenville firefighters responded,” he said. “Eventually, we called the Wintersville Fire Department for mutual aid for EMS because all our EMS personnel were at the fire, so we called them for EMS and fire. The Weirton Fire Department stood by at our station downtown and I think Mingo Junction responded with an ambulance, too.”