Donora woman displaced after fire damages home

By TAYLOR BROWN
tbrown@yourmvi.com
A lifelong Donora resident has been displaced from her home two days before Christmas after a fire broke out there Monday afternoon.
Ida Jean Godfrey said she has lived in the home her entire life.
Firefighters were called to Ida Jean Godfrey’s home on the 1000 block of McKean Avenue for an active structure fire. Watching from the sidewalk as firefighters battled the blaze, she said she has lived there her entire life.
Godfrey was not home when the fire broke out, but an unidentified next-door neighbor saw flames and smoke billowing from the upstairs windows and called 911.
A quick response from firefighters contained the blaze to the upper levels of the home, but not without extensive damage.
Godfrey said she was working at SPHS when she received the call there had been a fire at her home.
She quickly rushed home from work to find firefighters from Donora and Carroll Township climbing a ladder truck, dousing the house with water and working to extinguish the blaze.
Even after the fire had been contained, they worked diligently on the top floor digging through debris to make sure there were no burning embers.
Firefighters could be seen using various tools to fight through items like bed-frames, insulation, boxes and lamps.
Donora Mayor Jim McDonough said no injuries were reported, but added anytime such a thing happens close to the holidays, it is a hard day.
“This is horrible to have happened right before Christmas,” he said.
Thankfully, family members will host her until she is able to get back on her feet.
McDonough said the cause of the fire had not been officially determined, but he expects it might have been related to an electric blanket or heater.

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