Fire forces evacuation at senior apartment building in New Kensington

(MY parents lived there, on the 4th floor, in the 1970's)

Fire forces evacuation at senior apartment building in New Kensington
http://triblive.com/local/valleynewsdispatch/12032328-74/fire-apartment-building
Chuck Biedka | Monday, March 6, 2017, 12:09 p.m.

No one was hurt in an early morning fire that forced a temporary evacuation of some residents at an apartment building for seniors on Main Street in New Kensington.

The fire at Parnassus Manor appears to have started just after 3 a.m on a stove in an apartment on the fourth floor of the seven-story building and gutted the kitchen, New Kensington Assistant Fire Chief Ed Saliba Jr. said.

A woman and a man were able to get out of the burning apartment but thick smoke forced all fourth floor residents out of their apartments, Saliba said.

Four New Kensington fire companies put the fire out and then opened windows and used large fans to push smoke out of the building that largely serves senior citizens.

“The kitchen was gutted and there was extensive damage in the one bedroom unit,” said Michael L. Washowich, executive director of the Westmoreland County Housing Authority.

He said a damage estimate wasn't yet available.