UPDATE: Fire Destroys Fox Run Home

It was around 4 a.m. and Bill Hepinger had just fallen asleep after watching television when his smoke detectors woke him.

After rushing from his bedroom to the first floor of his home on Fox Run Road, he was greeted by flames.

“I went downstairs,” he said. “And the whole downstairs was on fire.”

Hepinger, his daughter, Evey Hepinger, and their three dogs made it safely from the house. A son, Jim Hepinger, who also lives there, was not home.

Cranberry Township Fire Chief Brian Kovac said his crews, who had been out on another non-fire call, arrived quickly at 154 Fox Run Road and spent three hours knocking out the flames.

Hepinger believes the fire, which started near the sliding-glass doors of the family room located inside the basement, might have been caused by an electrical issue. The flames spread quickly around the house.

“It was just going up,” he said.

The fire destroyed the basement and one of the bedrooms, Hepinger said. The rest of the house was damaged by smoke or water.

While she managed to grab her computer before she ran outside, Evey Hepinger said her family wasn’t able to salvage anything else from inside the house, including furniture and clothing.

The house in uninhabitable, and the family is waiting for housing arrangements to be made by their insurance company. Hepinger is hopeful his home, where he has lived for more than 26 years, will not have to be torn down.

“It could take six months before we can move back, though,” he said.

While her family's possessions were destroyed, Evey Hepinger said she is grateful to be alive.

“The smoke detectors saved our lives,” she said. “Everyone should make sure their smoke detectors are working.”

Volunteer firefighters from Adams Area, Marshall and Big Knob also were on the scene.