Fire damages home on Penn Avenue in Butler Township
BUTLER TWP — A family and their dogs escaped unharmed from a Wednesday morning fire in their home on Penn Avenue, but their cat died.
Eight fire companies responded to the fire reported just after 11 a.m. in the 200 block of the street that heavily damaged the rented home.
Susan Andre said she was at work when her 17-year-old daughter Jenna and 11-year-old granddaughter called and told her about the fire, and called 911.
“I ran home. They got out with the dogs,” Andre said.
She said her daughter and granddaughter went across the street to the home of her son Matthew and his girlfriend Abby Bergbigler. With Matthew at work, Bergbigler said was awakened by Jenna “pounding on the door.”
Andre said she didn’t know how the fire started, but she doesn’t have renters insurance.
The fire began in a back room on the first floor, which the homeowners used as a craft room, said Michael Schmidt, chief of the Butler Township Volunteer Fire District. He said two occupants called 911 about smoke in the home.
Firefighters contained most of the fire to that back room, but it spread into the kitchen and stairway before crews could extinguish it, Schmidt said. The damage is repairable, he added.
Debris around the back room posed a risk of reignition, so firefighters cleared some of the debris from the home and sprayed foam inside, Schmidt said. The cause of the fire is being investigated by Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshals.
Cindy Parker, of Walk in Faith Ministries, said the ministry is accepting donations for the Andre family. People can donate by dropping off items at the ministry at the corner of Penn Avenue and Erie Street, which is near the family’s home, or by calling her at 724-968-2018. She said the ministry has assisted 90 to 100 families in the last 12 months.
Butler Bureau of Fire, VA Butler Fire and Emergency Services, East Butler Volunteer Fire Company, Penn Township Volunteer Fire Department, Unionville Volunteer Fire Company, Chicora Volunteer Fire Department, Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company and Peoples Gas also responded.
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Firefighters work to put our a fire at a home on Penn Avenue on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Firefighters work to put our a fire at a home on Penn Avenue on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Firefighters work to put our a fire at a home on Penn Avenue on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Firefighters work to put our a fire at a home on Penn Avenue on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Firefighters work to put our a fire at a home on Penn Avenue on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Firefighters work to put our a fire at a home on Penn Avenue on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Firefighters work to put our a fire at a home on Penn Avenue on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Firefighters work to put our a fire at a home on Penn Avenue on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Firefighters work to put our a fire at a home on Penn Avenue on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Firefighters work to put our a fire at a home on Penn Avenue on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Firefighters work to put our a fire at a home on Penn Avenue on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Firefighters work to put our a fire at a home on Penn Avenue on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Firefighters work to put our a fire at a home on Penn Avenue on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Firefighters work to put our a fire at a home on Penn Avenue on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Firefighters work to put our a fire at a home on Penn Avenue on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
