Thick Smoke Chases Mother, Son from Home in Whitehall

A fire did not injure a mother and her son at their home at 4541 Norwin Rd. in at around 6 p.m. on Wednesday, but their dryer is in far worse shape.

Crews from the arrived at the family's home within minutes to fight the small blaze, which Whitehall fire Chief Lee Price said started when a dryer in the home's basement caught fire.

Dena Alario and son Kyle, 14 and an eighth-grader at , were upstairs in the home when smoke made its way from the basement to the rest of the house. Dena said that she and Kyle then ran outside to call 911.

Also responding to the scene were crews from the Pleasant Hills Volunteer Fire Company, and the .

Dena and Kyle were in relatively good spirits standing outside of the home with neighbors as they watched firefighters clear the house of other threats.

"It's something different," Dena said with a laugh. "We've never experienced this before."

She said that the family is lucky to avoid injury and major damage. A section of the basement is in need of repair, though.

No one was injured, but Norwin Road was still closed near its Baptist Road intersection as of 7 p.m.

 ---

Follow the Baldwin-Whitehall Patch on Facebook and Twitter.

Sign up for the daily Baldwin-Whitehall newsletter.