Daughter Details Escape from Evans City House Fire

Evans City resident Stacy Norris was sound asleep when her mother woke her just after midnight Wednesday to tell her the house was on fire.

At first, she didn’t believe her—then she saw the flames.

Norris, a nurse at UPMC in Cranberry who rents the house on May Lane with her mother, quickly grabbed the family dog and hurried outside.

Norris said she tried to return to the house to try to grab some personal items, but by then the flames already were too fierce. 

"We couldn't get back in," she said.

The white, two-story home was heavily damaged in the blaze and is uninhabitable. Norris said she and her mother would be staying with an aunt in the area until other arrangements are made.

Although she believes many items inside the house aren't salvageable, Norris said she is grateful no one was injured.

“It could have been way worse,” she said.

Evans City Fire Chief Mark Adomaitis said the house already was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived on the scene early Wednesday morning. He estimated it took firefighters about 10 minutes to knock out the bulk of the blaze.

Norris said the fire started behind the computer in the home’s office. Adomaitis said the flames spread from there to the kitchen. The rest of the home also sustained heavy smoke and water damage.

The cause of the fire is still undetermined, Adomaitis said.

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