26-05-2025
Strangers help save man from Springdale house fire
A home tucked deep in the woods of Springdale Township caught on fire on Monday morning, drawing 10 fire crews to the scene.
Neighbors were the first to rush in before firefighters arrived, helping save the man who lives in the home. One of those neighbors was Della Mayfield, who saw the smoke and ran to help.
"I was scared to death if he was still in the house," Mayfield said.
She told KDKA she saw the elderly man outside on the porch, and with the home already in flames, she did everything she could to get him to safety.
"He was out on his porch and the house was already on fire. So, I dragged him away from the fire and tried to get him up the driveway, but it was just too bad," said Mayfield.
That's when two young men who were strangers to the neighborhood, but were in town for a Memorial Day party, jumped in to help.
"We sprinted down and picked him up and got him up the hill until they could get someone to get him out," said Nathan Sarra.
"It was bad. We kept thinking it was going to blow up because we were hearing popping and stuff," said Sean Carmichael.
The two say they acted fast, not knowing if the man was still inside the burning house.
"At first, we thought he was inside the house," said Sarra. "So, we went to the house, and it was just engulfed in flames and smoke. He was lying on his side. We told him we're going to get you out of here."
When fire crews arrived, they were relieved to learn the man was not in the home, but they still had to navigate difficult terrain to fight the fire.
"This property offers some challenges with the driveway," said Allegheny Valley Fire Department Deputy Chief Tyler Kelly. "It's about 150 to 200 feet down a gravel road to the residence. A lot of our members were walking, a lot of hose was pulled."
Deputy Chief Kelly said firefighters were able to knock down the flames in about 15 minutes. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
