A man and woman were hospitalized following a house fire in New Kensington early Saturday morning.
Crews were dispatched at 12:47 a.m. to the 500 block of Oates Blvd., said New Kensington Fire Chief Ed Saliba Jr.
“In my lifetime — I’ve been on the books as a firefighter for 40 years — this is the absolute coldest fire we have ever fought,” Saliba said. “The temperature gauge in my truck registered minus-12 degrees.”
Saliba said he believes the fire started in the basement, but it’s unclear how it started.
“I will be meeting with the fire marshal this morning to find the cause and origin,” he said.
The two occupants of the home, a man and woman, made it out of the house. Saliba did not know their identification.
Both were taken to a hospital by medics, Saliba said. The man was covered in soot. Both suffered smoke inhalation.
“From what medics told me, they should be OK,” Saliba said.
The house is destroyed, he said.
Multiple fire companies from across the region responded. It took crews about four hours to extinguish the fire, Saliba said.
Negative temperatures were a factor, he said. Water turned to ice, ladders froze, and breathing apparatuses, gloves and bunker gear iced up. Firefighters rotated into a rehab tent and truck to stay hydrated and keep warm.
“We had to literally bust the ice off of our coats to open them up,” Saliba said. “The sleeves were frozen. Gloves were frozen.”
No firefighters were injured, Saliba said.
“The air was so dense outside,” he said. “The volunteers did a phenomenal job with the conditions they were dealt with. I can’t thank them and commend them enough for what they had to go up with.”