ON A MONDAY MORNING. LILY AND JANELLE. ALL RIGHT, SAM, THANK YOU. 502 IS OUR TIME. WE BEGIN WITH THIS THIS MORNING. 12 PEOPLE ARE WITHOUT A HOME AFTER A THREE ALARM FIRE RIPPED THROUGH SEVERAL HOMES IN PITTSBURGH’S BLOOMFIELD NEIGHBORHOOD. THIS IS VIDEO FROM THAT SCENE YESTERDAY AFTERNOON ALONG BUSY PENN AVENUE. BLACK SMOKE AND INTENSE FLAMES COULD BE SEEN THROUGHOUT THE CITY, SOMETIMES EVEN MILES AWAY. PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR REPORTER AVA RASH IS JOINING US LIVE IN BLOOMFIELD THIS MORNING. AND EVA, IT IS DARK BEHIND YOU NOW. A MUCH DIFFERENT SCENE THAN YESTERDAY. YEAH, THAT’S FOR SURE LILY, BUT I CAN STILL SMELL THAT SMOKE. THAT’S JUST HOW INTENSE THIS FIRE WAS. I WANT TO GET OUT OF THE WAY SO YOU CAN KIND OF TAKE A LIVE LOOK AT THESE HOMES. NOW YOU CAN SEE MOST OF THE DAMAGE DONE TO ALMOST THAT BLUE GRAY BUILDING RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE. IT’S NOW BLUE AND BLACK FROM HOW MUCH DAMAGE WAS DONE THERE. NOW THEY ARE ALL STILL STANDING. YOU CAN SEE THAT CAUTION TAPE IS UP HERE, BUT STILL JUST A TON OF DAMAGE DONE YESTERDAY. THE ASSISTANT FIRE CHIEF SAYS SO MANY HOMES WERE IMPACTED BECAUSE OF NUMEROUS FACTORS LIKE WIND TIGHT SPACING, BUILDING MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION GOING ON AT AT LEAST ONE OF THE HOMES. 50 FIREFIGHTERS WORKED FOR HOURS TRYING TO GET THOSE FLAMES UNDER CONTROL, BUT THE FLAMES MOVED QUICKLY, TURNING THIS INTO A THREE ALARM FIRE. AT THIS POINT, WE KNOW 12 PEOPLE ARE DISPLACED, BUT LUCKILY NO ONE WAS HURT. WE SPOKE WITH TWO PEOPLE WHO WERE INSIDE AT THE TIME OF THE FIRE. THEY DETAILED HOW THEY’RE COPING WITH THIS LOSS. I MEAN, WE’VE GONE BACK AND FORTH OF LAUGHING ABOUT IT AND CRYING ABOUT IT. SO IT’S I DON’T THINK IT’S FULLY HIT ME DESPITE CRYING ABOUT IT, BUT IT’S YEAH, BECAUSE THAT’S EVERYTHING THAT WE OWNED IS GONE. JUST SUCH A DEVASTATING SITUATION FOR ALL THE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THIS. AT THIS POINT, WE DO KNOW THAT IT IS STILL UNKNOWN WHAT CAUSED THIS FIRE. BUT PITTSBURGH FIRE IS INVESTIGATING FOR NOW
‘Everything that we own is gone’: 12 people without a home after fire in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood
No one was injured in the fire on Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh
Updated: 11:45 AM EDT Mar 30, 2026
Caution tape now blocks off row homes in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood that were destroyed by flames Sunday afternoon, leaving 12 people without a home.”Seeing the smoke go from, like, the whitish gray clouds to full black, I was like, we’re done, we’ve got to get out, this place is over,” Katie Cincotti said.Cincotti and Jarred Reccek were inside their home on Penn Avenue when they suddenly started to smell smoke.”I stepped into the kitchen, which is on the far side of the apartment, and I saw out the window, flames coming up to the window,” Reccek said. “The flames were already getting fairly high, not even a minute after first smelling it.”Immediately, they grabbed what was near them and ran out of the house.”The moment we were outside, it was, like, full flames climbing the building,” Cincotti said.The massive flames spread quickly, ripping through five homes.”We believe most of that impact was the result of the wind-driven and the construction and the tight spacing of these homes,” said Brian Kokkila, assistant chief of operations for the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire.Fifty firefighters worked for hours trying to get the flames under control. Everyone got out safely, but now 12 people are without a home.”We’ve gone back and forth of laughing about it and crying about it, so I don’t think it’s fully hit me, despite crying about it. Everything that we own is gone,” Reccek said.The city’s fire investigation unit is working to determine what caused this fire.Download the WTAE app to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news in your inbox.
PITTSBURGH —
Caution tape now blocks off row homes in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood that were destroyed by flames Sunday afternoon, leaving 12 people without a home.
“Seeing the smoke go from, like, the whitish gray clouds to full black, I was like, we’re done, we’ve got to get out, this place is over,” Katie Cincotti said.
Cincotti and Jarred Reccek were inside their home on Penn Avenue when they suddenly started to smell smoke.
“I stepped into the kitchen, which is on the far side of the apartment, and I saw out the window, flames coming up to the window,” Reccek said. “The flames were already getting fairly high, not even a minute after first smelling it.”
Immediately, they grabbed what was near them and ran out of the house.
“The moment we were outside, it was, like, full flames climbing the building,” Cincotti said.
The massive flames spread quickly, ripping through five homes.
“We believe most of that impact was the result of the wind-driven and the construction and the tight spacing of these homes,” said Brian Kokkila, assistant chief of operations for the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire.
Fifty firefighters worked for hours trying to get the flames under control. Everyone got out safely, but now 12 people are without a home.
“We’ve gone back and forth of laughing about it and crying about it, so I don’t think it’s fully hit me, despite crying about it. Everything that we own is gone,” Reccek said.
The city’s fire investigation unit is working to determine what caused this fire.
Download the WTAE app to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news in your inbox.