Fatal New Kensington fire ruled accidental

A house fire that claimed the life of a New Kensington man over the weekend was accidental, the city’s fire chief said Monday.

Scott Fularz, 45, died Saturday at Allegheny Valley Hospital, where he was taken for treatment of smoke inhalation.

A neighbor reported the fire at 723 Kennedy Ave. around 11:45 a.m. Fire Chief Ed Saliba Jr. said firefighters found Fularz just inside the locked front door after forcing their way in.

Saliba said the house was full of black smoke, and it was unknown how long Fularz had been in there exposed to it. Because of the conditions and Fularz’s size — over 6 feet tall and 240 to 250 pounds — it took five firefighters to get him out from behind the front door to the porch, he said.

“It’s hard to maneuver somebody when they’re unresponsive and they can’t assist you,” Saliba said. “It was a very strenuous and stressful situation. They worked as fast as they could to get him out.”

Police rescued a 4-year-old boy, who Saliba identified as Felix Swanger, from the basement of the house through a carport. He and Fularz were the only ones in the house at the time of the fire.

While Saliba said an investigation found the fire was accidental and started in a bedroom toward the back of the house, the exact cause was undetermined.

The bedroom was gutted, with heat and smoke damage to the first floor and water and smoke damage in the basement, Saliba said. It was unknown whether the house could be repaired.

Fularz lived at the house with his girlfriend, Angeline Swanger, and her five children, according to a GoFundMe established by her sister, April Swanger.

April Swanger could not immediately be reached for comment.

According to the GoFundMe, Angeline Swanger was at work when the fire broke out. She has six children, five who live with her; Felix is her youngest.

As of Monday morning, her online fundraising effort had raised about $1,400 toward a $2,000 goal from 28 donations.