MOUNT CARMEL -- The fire in Mount Carmel started around 6 p.m. Wednesday. One person was home at the time and says all he remembers is running upstairs, seeing flames and quickly running out.
The Casiano family stood on the street outside their home, waiting for the state police fire marshal to finish sifting through the fire-damaged building. The night before, fire at the row home along North Locust Street in Mount Carmel forced Joshua Casiano to get out quickly.
"I just saw the flames, I went upstairs and saw the house on fire, and then I ran," says Joshua Casiano.
Neighbors say once the fire started going, it got very smoky, very fast. Some worried it would spread next door.
"I just saw smoke coming across because it started coming across the vent, and I thought maybe flames were going to start working this way," says neighbor Rick Whary.
The fire chief says although it took firefighters about 30 minutes to get the blaze under control, they were able to stop it from spreading to attached homes. Firefighters stopped it from spreading to five other nearby homes. The chief says one firefighter breathed in too much smoke and had chest pains. He was sent to hospital.
The Casiano family says it could have been a lot worse, and are thankful, it wasn't.
"The first thing I said was 'my son he's okay?' After he told me yes, I said 'is my grandson okay, his mother?' Yes they are okay, the rest is material, it can all be replaced," said Joshua's father, Miguel Casiano.
A state police fire marshal tells Newswatch 16, the blaze started with an electrical problem. The family is staying with relatives.