3 hospitalized from smoke in Mt. Lebanon fire
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Three people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation after a mattress caught fire at a Mt. Lebanon apartment complex early today.
Platoon Chief Glenn Wallace said firefighters were called to 53 Academy Ave. by a woman who thought she smelled smoke about 2 a.m. Firefighters traced the smoke to a first-floor apartment with an unlocked door and found four people inside. Three of the occupants had to be awakened and needed assistance getting out of the apartment while a fourth made it out without help, he said.
Firefighters discovered that a mattress had caught fire and put it out with a small water extinguisher, Chief Wallace said. Between 20 and 30 other residents in the building had to be evacuated for an hour so the apartments could be ventilated.
The three who had to be carried out of the apartment were transported to UPMC Mercy. Two were treated and released and the third, who was in the room where the mattress caught fire, was admitted for observation.
Chief Wallace said initial reports are that a lamp fell against a mattress, causing it to catch fire.
First Published February 7, 2012 9:49 am
