A Mt. Lebanon man and woman died last night and a firefighter was injured during a two-alarm blaze that drew 75 firefighters from six companies, police from at least two departments, several ambulances, and the Port Authority.

Bob Donaldson, Post-Gazette Firefighters wait their turn to enter a burning home on Hoodridge Drive in Mt. Lebanon. Click photo for larger image.

The victims, whose identities were being withheld pending notification of family, were a 52-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman, both of whom lived in the red brick ranch home located at 309 Hoodridge Drive. They were pronounced dead at St. Clair Hospital.

The firefighter, whose name also was withheld, slipped on the ice and was being treated for an injured ankle, said Mt. Lebanon Fire Department Platoon Chief Kevin S. Maehling.

Fire crews from Mt. Lebanon and Castle Shannon were dispatched to the home after a neighbor saw smoke pouring from the house, which sits just a few feet into Mt. Lebanon on the border of Castle Shannon. Crews from Upper St. Clair, Green Tree, Bower Hill and Dormont also responded.

Maehling said that when firefighters arrived, the house was engulfed in smoke and flames were shooting from the basement.

"It did have quite a start on us," Mahling said. "We had heavy smoke conditions. You couldn't even see the house."

Maehling said officials learned almost immediately that people were inside the rental property owned by Jurik Investments Ltd.

"We were in the mindset that this was an entrapment," Maehling said.

Search and rescue teams entered the home and found the woman in a front bedroom and the man in a back bedroom.

	Bob Donaldson, Post-Gazette A firefighter is covered by smoke as he vents the roof. Click photo for larger image.

Maehling said both had suffered from smoke inhalation, but it wasn't clear why the two hadn't been able to escape from the home. It appeared the fire had been burning for quite a while before firefighters were summoned.

Authorities last night were not sure how the blaze started.

Investigators from the Allegheny County fire marshal's office, Allegheny County homicide and the Mt. Lebanon Police Department will be at the scene today continuing the investigation.

Firefighters believe the blaze started in the basement, traveled up the walls of the house and into the attic. Maehling said crews inside the home found themselves surrounded by flames.

Maehling said that firefighters were hampered by frigid temperatures that hovered in the mid teens.

"Footing's been a real issue," Maehling said. The temperatures also wreaked havoc with crew equipment, and water used to fight the blaze created slippery conditions as it froze.

In addition to firefighters and police, the Port Authority responded. Port Authority Supervisor Todd McElravy was in Castle Shannon when he saw that firefighters were being dispatched. He ordered two Port Authority buses be sent to the scene so that firefighters and emergency personnel would have a place to keep warm.

"I came up here and saw where the fire was and I went and got some buses," McElravy said. "If we have the manpower to do it, we'll do it."

The last fatal fire in Mt. Lebanon occurred on March 16, 2001, at Fieldbrook Apartments, 1425 McFarland Road.

Catherine Arenth, 70, who lived in a second floor unit where the fire started, died eight days later from pneumonia cause by smoke inhalation.