New Castle basement hoarding challenges firefighters | Local News - WTAE Home.

Nobody was hurt, but firefighters had a big challenge on their hands early Monday morning in New Castle.

They broke a basement window to get inside a house on North Crawford Avenue.

Once they did that, they found a basement that was filled with items from the floor to the ceiling, calling it one of the worst cases of hoarding they've encountered.

But according to neighbor Eric Ritter, nobody has lived at the home for several years.

Ritter said he was not home when the fire began. As he returned, he saw smoke coming from the basement and called for help.

"I hurried up and ran inside and woke everybody up and told them to get out of the house, and instantly called 911 and brought the dogs outside and everybody outside, and glad we just got out OK," Ritter said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Read more: http://www.wtae.com/news/local/New-Castle-basement-hoarding-challenges-firefighters/-/9681086/16277184/-/lwidcrz/-/index.html#ixzz24lWFAreu