Fire Destroys Carnegie House

A Carnegie house was destroyed by fire and a neighboring residence severely damaged this morning.

The fire started shortly after 8 a.m. Friday at 926 Kennedy St. in Carnegie and spread to the house next door.

The homeowner, Jan Lytle, said she was upstairs when she smelled smoke and went to see what was the problem. She came downstairs to find the kitchen filled with smoke and flames shooting from behind the refrigerator.

“The smoke smelled really bad,” Lytle said. “It was awful.”

She ran upstairs to grab her dog, Blaze, and made it out safely. Still, she was overcome by emotions while looking at her home that was blackened by soot and fire.

“I lost everything,” she said.

Witnesses said they saw flames shooting out of the windows and the door blew off the hinges. The neighboring house also had heavy damage.

Firefighters closed Kennedy Street, which is just behind Route 50, while crews worked to control the fire. Firefighters from Carnegie, Crafton, Bridgeville and Heidelberg responded to the fire and were assisted by medics from Southbridge and Carnegie.

The Red Cross was also on scene to assist the homeowners and firefighters.