Hair dryer is cause of deadly fire

A firefighter was
critically injured after becoming trapped.

GROVE CITY, Pa. — A hair dryer left running was the cause of a fatal fire here Friday morning, said a fire marshal for the Pennsylvania State Police.

Trooper Jan Wilson said it appears the hair dryer was left on while the woman who lived in one side of the duplex at 132 Garden Ave. fell asleep. She said the exact circumstances of how the fire started can’t be determined because there was too much damage.

Patricia Andrews Smith, 40, was killed after becoming trapped in the 6:10 a.m. blaze. The family who lived on the other side escaped. The house was destroyed.

Two firefighters were injured, one critically. Pine Township firefighter Brad Holmes, 21, remains at UPMC Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh. Holmes is the brother of the Pine Township Engine Co.’s chief, Christopher Holmes, a spokesman at the fire department said.

The Pine Township department is not releasing details about the fire or Holmes’ condition. There was no one available Tuesday at the hospital to give an update.

The Pine Township department confirmed, however, that information on its Web site about Brad Holmes is correct.

The site includes a message from Christopher Holmes, saying his brother’s condition is “day to day.” He was burned over 75 percent of his body after being trapped on the second floor of the house while looking for Smith.

Another Pine Township firefighter who was trapped with him, Scott King, was injured, though not seriously.

Holmes remains heavily sedated and will be on a ventilator for two weeks, the chief said.