Pa. Officer Injured in House Fire

MCKEES ROCKS, Pa. --

Two people were hurt early Wednesday morning in a house fire in McKees Rocks, dispatch workers said.

The fire started at about 1:30 a.m. in the 700 block of Frederick Street.

The fire chief said 77-year-old Anthony Kascak was taken to a hospital for smoke inhalation and burns.

A McKees Rocks police officer who responded to the fire was also hurt.

Officials said the officer tried to rush inside the burning house to rescue one of the residents. The officer reportedly opened a back door when a blast of fire blew out. It turned out that everyone had already gotten out of the house safely.

The officer was released from the hospital but then went back Wednesday afternoon. He reported having blurry vision after embers blew into one of his eyes.

The intense blaze destroyed just about everything in the house, although the family was able to salvage some pictures.

It took an hour to put the fire out and an hour to dig into the hot spots in gaps and joists.

"This is an old building remodeled several times. It took time to get in the roof and extinguish the fire," said McKees Rocks fire chief Nick Radoycis.

A total of five people were displaced because of the blaze, including a grandfather, grandmother, their daughter and two granddaughters.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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