Fire victim injured in fall, dog dies in Sunday morning blaze
A Butler family is trying to pick up the pieces this week after they narrowly escaped a fire that took the life of at least one of their pets and rendered their duplex on East Locust Street uninhabitable.
James Driskell and his son, Joshua, were on the first floor when their home caught fire around 1 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 12. The two were among five total residents who called the duplex home.
“Without exaggeration, if it was a moment longer, me and my son wouldn't be here,” Driskell said. “It’s tough to lose literally every item of your belongings.”
Driskell’s wife, Jessica, also lived on the first floor but was out of town. She was visiting family in Boston, where her other son — Joshua’s half brother — is dealing with stage four lymphoma and going through an eighth round of chemotherapy.
Butler firefighters found another resident of the duplex on the ground outside the burning building early Sunday morning after apparently escaping through a second-story window.
Butler Bureau of Fire Chief Chris Switala, said the man was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital, but the other tenants of the duplex were uninjured in the blaze, which destroyed much of the back end of the building — and the entrance to the second floor.
“There was a back porch that spanned two stories, and that was completely burned away,” Switala said. “That's what prevented the escape for the people in the upper unit, because their stairwell was that back porch. That was heavily involved in fire; that's why they had to come out the windows.”
Switala said the tenants on the first floor of the duplex were alerted to the fire by a smoke alarm at around 1:15 a.m. Sunday, when smoke was already filling the rooms.
The building is not inhabitable now, according to Switala, and the American Red Cross is aiding the victims. However, Switala said the fire department has not been able to contact the tenants of the upper unit in the duplex, so the investigation of the fire is still ongoing. He also said the department is not calling in a fire marshal for this investigation.
The house next door to the duplex was also damaged during the fire — some siding was melted by the heat and one window was broken either from the heat or from a hose, Switala said. The house next door is still inhabitable, he said.
Ruth Driskell shared a GoFundMe page Sunday seeking help for her family.
The page has a $1,000 goal, to get “a bit of help to get them some basic needs and to help with food and dog food.”
“My sister-in-law is currently in Boston, so she is safe. My nephew and brother-in-law were in the house, but are safe,” she said in a message posted to the GoFundMe page.
James Driskell confirmed that at least one of his pets, a black Labrador named Keeba, is dead, and he is unsure of the status of his cat, Mamas. His other dog, Jax, escaped.
In the immediate aftermath of the fire, James and Joshua are temporarily moving in with Ruth and Tim — who is James’ brother and Ruth’s husband. They also live in Butler.
“They're welcome as long as they need, and they know that,” Tim said. “My plan right now is to try and just collect whatever we possibly can, store it at my house, and then just make sure they are both taken care of.”
Tim, who works full time at Penn United Technologies in Butler County, is urging the community to donate food, as there will now be seven people in Tim’s household. James and Joshua will join Tim, Ruth and their three children.
The family can be contacted through the GoFundMe page or Facebook.
