PULASKI, PA. Three township men escape early-morning blaze at home

The blaze seems to be accidental, authorities said.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW BEDFORD, Pa. -- The smell of smoke roused Will Snyder from bed just after 3 this morning.
The 25-year-old Pulaski Township man had gone to bed only a short time before and had not noticed any problems, but he soon saw smoke and fire in his second-floor bedroom.
He jumped out of his window onto a small roof and down to the first floor, then went to wake his two sleeping roommates on the first floor in the apartment they shared on U.S. Route 422, less than a mile from the Pennsylvania-Ohio border.
"I pounded on their windows and screamed. I broke the window to the back door but couldn't get in because of the chain," Snyder said.
Inside, Shane Eppinger and Jason Kupiec, both 26, were awakened by Snyder's screams.
Eppinger tried to get out through his bedroom door, but the force of the smoke and fire knocked him to the ground, he said. He wrapped his bedsheet over his head and made it to the window, where Snyder had pulled out a window air conditioner.
Kupiec said he also got out through his bedroom window, then called for help on a cellular telephone he had in his vehicle.
Called accidental
Fire Marshal Robert Ryhal of the Pennsylvania State Police said the fire appears accidental.
The building also housed Creative Communication & amp; Securities Inc., a telephone systems business owned by Snyder's father, Chuck, and appeared to have gone through many renovations and had several concealed areas, Ryhal said.
Firefighters were called to the blaze at 3:19 a.m. and were still battling hot spots at 8 this morning.
Pulaski Township Fire Chief Bob Taylor said a small section of U.S. Route 422 was closed to traffic shortly after they arrived, but it reopened by 9 a.m. No estimate of loss was available this morning.
Ronalyn Eppinger, Shane's mother, said she arrived at the fire just before firefighters and saw flames above nearby tree tops. The men called family members after calling for help, she said.
Ryhal said the building is owned by Tony Katsourakis of Campbell, Ohio. The fire destroyed the apartment and caused smoke damage in the rest of the building, he said.
Chuck Snyder wasn't sure this morning what he could salvage from his business. He said his business had been in that location for about 20 years.
Ryhal said he was calling the American Red Cross to help Will Snyder, Eppinger and Kupiec, but family members said the men would likely go home with them.