A 29-year-old woman was injured when she fell from a second-floor window after a building that houses the SisTers PGH transgender advocacy program caught fire Monday morning in Greenfield.
Crews were called around 6:50 a.m. to the corner of Murray Avenue and Flemington Street where the two-story building was on fire. Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said the fire was contained to the second floor, which houses two apartments.
The drop-in shelter and resource center for transgender individuals is one of two business spaces located on the first floor of the building — the other is vacant.
Mr. Hissrich said the unidentified woman was hanging from a window when she fell and landed onto the hood of a dump truck parked along Flemington Street. Authorities said the woman sustained lacerations in the incident. Mr. Hissrich described the injuries as minor to moderate.
She was taken to the hospital by paramedics. Authorities said there were no other injuries.
"It is with a heavy heart that SisTers PGH has to report the loss of our intake facility this morning," said the SisTers PGH board of directors in a statement released Monday. "A fire began on the second floor of our unit by an unrelated resident, and spread to the ground floor. We are still awaiting details from the fire department and local authorities, but have not yet received the clear to enter the property."
It is with hurt hearts we have to report the building we where leasing as SisTers Drop in space has caught fire this morning in the upstairs apartment😥SisTers will be closed at this location until further notice! We lost things in our space because of smoke and water damage 😥 pic.twitter.com/OdlfmIJ6fK
— SisTers PGH (@SisTersPGH) December 16, 2019
The property will remain closed until further notice, the advocacy group said Monday.
The group's board of directors said they are "grieving" the loss of the space, but will remain focused on "clients, and other community members that rely on this trans centered, safe space to procure resources, training, medical referrals, housing, clothing, food, and transportation."
Public safety officials noted that the call was the first for two firefighters who graduated with their class on Friday.
First Published: December 16, 2019, 1:24 p.m.
