Woman who dies in house fire was 2000 Seneca grad
ZELIENOPLE — The fatal house fire in New Castle Tuesday morning has touched this small community.
Killed was 33-year-old Kalle Convery and her daughter, 9-year-old Aidan Kelley.
The girl's father, 35-year-old Andrew Kelley and brother, 7-year-old Quentin Kelley, escaped and were taken to hospitals.
Kalle Convery was a 2000 graduate of Seneca Valley High School, and has family living in Zelienople. She also was a 2007 graduate of Slippery Rock University.
Andrew Kelley works at Dambach Lumber in Harmony.
Dambach Lumber owner Dave Magill did not want to comment on the tragedy.
A woman who answered the phone at BRGR in Cranberry Township confirmed that Convery worked there.
“She was amazing,” the woman said.
She said the owner of BRGR will issue a statement regarding Convery's death.
Convery's Facebook page is full of comments from grieving friends and family who were stunned at her death.
A memorial fund has been opened at youcaring.com to raise funds for the family. As of this morning, $5,655 had been raised toward the $10,000 goal.
A woman who answered the phone at the Boylan Funeral Home in Zelienople confirmed that arrangements were being made through Boylan, but funeral directors had not yet talked to Convery's family.
Investigators said the fire started about 3 a.m. and spread throughout the two-story house in Shenango Township, Lawrence County.
The family was apparently sleeping when Andrew Kelley was “awakened by heat and coughing,” said Trooper Harry Gustafson Jr., the investigating officer.
Kelley went downstairs to check for any problem and discovered the fire. By then flames and smoke had overtaken the kitchen and prevented him from getting back to his bedroom or his children's bedrooms.
He went outside around the burning house in a frantic attempt to rescue his family, Gustafson said.
Kelley smashed out a back window and pulled out his son. However, he was unable to get to his wife or daughter.
Lawrence County Deputy Coroner Sam Teolis pronounced the mother and daughter dead at the scene.
A medical helicopter flew Quentin Kelley to Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh, where he is expected to be released soon. Andrew Kelley was treated at Jameson Hospital in New Castle and released.
