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One Person Dead After Munhall Apartment Building Fire
By Staff Reports
The Tube City Almanac
December 16, 2016
Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
A resident was found dead, and about 90 people were evacuated, following a fire at a senior-citizen high-rise apartment building in Munhall.
The fire at Parkview Tower on Caroline Street was reported just before 5 a.m., said Allegheny County Emergency Services Chief Matt Brown. Firefighters arrived five minutes after the initial 9-1-1 alarm and discovered the blaze on the seventh floor of the building was spreading to the roof.
A "mass casualty" incident was declared and additional emergency crews were summoned to help evacuate the elderly residents, many of whom have disabilities and use walkers and canes, Brown said.
Seven people were taken to area hospitals and one person was found dead at the scene. Brown said he could not release the person's name or where, exactly, they were found in the building.
The cause of the fire is unknown and remains under investigation, he said.
The building is owned and operated by Methouse, an affliliate of Pittsburgh's United Methodist Church Union.
The 113-unit building includes efficiency apartments, one-bedroom apartments and one-bedroom apartments with balconies. According to the building's website, 21 of the units are approved for subsidized rent, while the remaining apartments are rented at market rates.
Evacuated residents have been moved to a shelter where they will work with the Red Cross and others to assist with housing, Brown said. Port Authority of Allegheny County buses were called to the scene to serve as temporary shelters.
The fire was declared under control at 6:55 a.m., Brown said, but no information was released by the county on the names, conditions or injuries suffered by those who were taken to the hospital.
"Multiple fire marshals" and investigators remain on the scene, Brown said.
County spokeswoman Amie Downs said that family members and friends of Parkview residents who need information can call the management office at (412) 461-2993.
Originally published December 16, 2016.
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