A neighbor's quick response helped a Freeport family escape an early morning house fire, in the Laneville section of the borough, that was started by a pet.
Fire Chief Dominic Ravotti said the blaze erupted about 5 a.m. at 42 Main St., which is a two-story house owned and occupied by the Richard Gohn family.
No one was seriously injured, although the Gohns lost at least three cats in the blaze. An emergency medical technician also had to resuscitate one of the family's dogs.
Ravotti said the fire was started accidentally when one of the pets knocked a bedsheet onto a space heater in the living room. The sheet burst into flames, the chief said, and ignited a fire in the living room.
Anthony Gohn, 19, said he was asleep in an upstairs bedroom when he heard his mother, Sally, yell that she smelled smoke.
Gohn said his sister, Dusty, 16, also was asleep in an upstairs bedroom; his father was at work.
Flames from the living room prevented the family from escaping through the front door.
Anthony Gohn said he tried to get downstairs but realized it was too risky.
"We couldn't get out at all, unless we would've jumped out of the windows," Gohn said.
Gohn said the family started yelling from the windows for neighbors to help.
Kevin Jones, a fire police captain living a few doors down from the Gohns, responded to the family's cries for help by carrying a ladder to the scene.
"He grabbed a ladder and rescued the family from the structure," Ravotti said.
Anthony Gohn said his sister was the last one out of the house and was climbing down a ladder when firefighters arrived.
Other neighbors assisted at the scene, according to TV news reports.
Ravotti said the Gohns were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation but didn't need to be taken to the hospital.
The chief said much of the house suffered smoke damage, although fire damage was mostly confined to the living room. He stopped short of saying the house was a total loss.
It was unclear Monday if the family has insurance.
Anthony Gohn said his grandmother, who owns several apartments, offered one of the apartments to the family for the time being.
The American Red Cross also was offering assistance.
Gohn said the family had four cats. Three of the cats died in the blaze, he said, and one was missing. The family also has four dogs, which survived.
In addition to Freeport, crews from Harrison Hills, South Buffalo and Sarver were on scene, with Kittanning, Buffalo Township and Saxonburg crews on standby.
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Michael Aubele can be reached at maubele@tribweb.com.
