Butler Township house fire claims pet rabbits
A Thursday afternoon fire caused extensive damage to the kitchen of a home in Butler Township and claimed the lives of several pet rabbits.
The fire at the 232 Grandview Blvd. appeared to have started just before 1 p.m. in the kitchen of the single story home and spread into a common attic that spans the entire length of the house, said Scott Frederick, chief of the Butler Township Volunteer Fire District.
Flames burned through part of the roof and through one side of the home leaving the kitchen with extensive damage and moderate damage to the rest of house, Frederick said.
He said the cause has not been determined, and the Red Cross was notified to assist the residents who were not home when the fire began.
None of the residents or firefighters from the five responding fire departments were injured, Frederick said.
The homeowner Rhonda Schnitzki said she returned home after one of her neighbors called her and told her about the fire. She said she does not know how the fire started, and she does not have insurance.
“All I know is I don’t have a house anymore,” Schnitzki said.
She lives in the home with her daughter, two other adults, a child and several pets including dogs, a cat, turtles and rabbits. At least one dog was treated by ambulance personnel, and survived, but the rabbits died, she said.
The Butler Bureau of Fire, Herman Volunteer Fire Company, Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company and the VA Butler Healthcare Fire Department also responded to the fire.
This story was updated at 2:25 p.m. Thursday to reflect that a dog was rescued from the fire. A previous version of this story incorrectly said that two dogs died.
