Update: Coroner identifies 2 adults, 1 child killed in Kittanning fire
A man, woman and child died in an early Monday, Feb. 24, fire that consumed a duplex in the 1400 block of North Grant Avenue in Kittanning.
The victims have been identified as Kayla Whittaker, 28; Ryland Whittaker, 3; and Jason C. Blystone, Jr., 26.
The Armstrong County Coroner’s Office said the fire began around 3:45 a.m., and all three were pronounced dead at the scene.
By 2 p.m. Monday, roughly 12 hours after the fire took place, the site was surrounded by caution tape and trash, and the smell of smoke still was present.
According to one eyewitness, two children made it out of the home and took shelter at a neighbor’s house. A number of Pittsburgh-area media outlets reported the same.
Armstrong County dispatchers say that fire crews were still on scene at 8:45 a.m. containing the incident.
The fire is under investigation by the Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshal, the Kittanning Police Department and the Armstrong County Coroner’s Office.
A firefighter from the Kittanning Fire Department who was on scene declined to comment, deferring to the official state investigation.
