Several evacuated after apartment fire in Connellsville

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Firefighters took hand lines into the residence on Pittsburgh Street in Connellsville where 15 people were displaced by an early-morning fire Tuesday. [Ed Riedmann]

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New Haven Hose Company firefighters returned to the scene of a Tuesday morning fire on Pittsburgh Street to rescue a cat on a third-story window ledge. The cat was reunited with its owner. [Photo provided by New Haven Hose Company.]

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Firefighters were on scene for nearly three hours fighting a fire at a multi-family home in Connellsville. There were no injuries in the fire, though all residents are displaced for now. [Ed Riedmann]

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Thirteen people were left homeless Tuesday after a fire in a Connellsville apartment.

There were no resident or firefighter injuries from the fire at 606 S. Pittsburgh St., said Sue Kozak-Griffith, public information officer for Fayette County Emergency Management Agency.

The first call came in around 3:19 a.m., she said.

New Haven Hose company Fire Chief Jeffrey Layton said the fire started in a second-floor apartment and extended upstairs to a third-floor apartment directly above it. The other four units in the building had smoke and water damage.

Layton said the state police fire marshal had visited the scene Tuesday as part of an investigation into how the fire got started.

“We’re leaving it undetermined at this time until we finish our investigation on the cause,” he said.

Layton said the fire was not connected to other recent ones reported nearby, such as last week’s fire at the Fox Tavern.

Utilities had been shut off to the building Wednesday morning, Layton said. The Red Cross had been dispatched to meet with the displaced residents.

In a post on X, the American Red Cross of Greater Pennsylvania said it had assisted 15 residents — 14 adults and one child — affected by the fire.

The building owner did not have insurance, Layton said.

Several cats and dogs had also been removed from the building, Layton said.

Crews cleared the scene at 6:05 a.m.

Firefighters returned to the building later Tuesday morning to rescue a cat on a third-story ledge.

“We just threw up an extension ladder, and we got the cat out, down, put it in a cat crate, and a neighbor took it,” Layton said.