Family, pets displaced by Monroeville house fire

A Monroeville family and a number of animals have been displaced following a house fire on Vanderbilt Drive on Aug. 15.

Debbie Bolette said she has lived in the home at 719 Vanderbilt for 25 years. She said three of her four dogs survived the fire and were being cared for at a local vet. A fourth dog and a cat are missing. She said she was unsure if her pet reptiles, six turtles and three snakes, were unharmed.

Bolette said that her son was napping and woke up to the couch across from him on fire.

“Right now, we don’t really know what happened,” she said while waiting outside.

The Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s office is investigating.

Scott Beltz, fire chief of Monroeville Volunteer Fire Co. No. 1, said one firefighter was transported to the hospital to be treated for heat exhaustion.

Describing the challenges of fighting fires in hot weather, Beltz said, “Put your winter clothing on, go outside and exercise.”

Beltz said up to 40% of the house was on fire as crews responded to the scene around 11:30 a.m.

“There was a lot of fire showing,” he said.

The chief said stations 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 were dispatched to the scene. He called upon units in Plum and Penn Hills to provide more manpower, he said.

One of Bolette’s neighbor created a GoFundMe page to raise $10,000 for the family. As of Friday, the site purported to have raised $515 by seven donors.

To visit the page, go to bit.ly/2H9MRkp.