Boy, 6, playing with lighter caused fatal Friendship fire
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Firefighters investigate the scene at 115 S. Graham St. in Friendship, where a man and a woman were killed in a blaze caused by a 6-year-old playing with a lighter.
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A man and a woman were killed and a firefighter was injured early today when a 6-year-old playing with a lighter sparked a blaze at an apartment house in Friendship.
The fire started just before 2 a.m. at 115 S. Graham St., which had been converted into three apartment units, where the boy lived with his mother and siblings.
The Allegheny County medical examiner's office did not release the names of the dead this morning, saying they had yet to be identified. Fire Chief Darryl Jones said a woman was found dead in the third-floor apartment. A man was taken to a hospital from the same apartment and died.
"We were in awe of how the firefighters were working," said Amelia Jones, who lives next door. "It was amazing to see them in action."
Seven people were inside the house at the time of the blaze. Robert Dax, who has owned the building for 32 years, said he did not know the man who perished but that he was not a tenant.
A firefighter, whose name was not immediately available, suffered a minor ankle sprain battling the four-alarm blaze. He was treated and released from a hospital and has been cleared to return to work.
Fire officials said the blaze caused $125,000 worth of damage to the building.
Neighbors said they awoke to popping sounds and saw intense flames and smoke pouring from the apartment house.
Fire investigators said they believe the boy was playing with a lighter when he ignited a piece of paper and set it atop a pillow. The pillow caught fire and he tossed it behind a couch, causing the blaze to spread. The boy's mother tried to put the fire out herself before calling 911, investigators said.
It was too soon to determine whether charges were warranted, fire investigators said.
Mr. Dax said the family moved there in July and the woman had been "struggling" with health and other issues. The boys, he said, were always polite and well-mannered with him.
He said the third-floor tenant had moved to Pittsburgh from Africa and had rented the apartment for more than six years. She moved here to be close to a brother, who had encouraged her to move, Mr. Dax said.
He described her as an ideal tenant.
"For everyone involved, it's tragic," he said.
First Published February 8, 2012 8:35 am
