A kitchen fire in Antis Township Tuesday afternoon sent a resident to the hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening smoke inhalation and caused about $50,000 damage. Mirror photo by William Kibler

A kitchen fire Tuesday afternoon sent one person to the hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening smoke inhalation, while causing approximately $50,000 in damage to a house on the 2000 block of Parkway Drive, according to Jack McCloskey, chief of Excelsior Fire Department No. 1 of Bellwood.

The fire may also have killed one of three cats that lived in the house, while sending two of the three dogs that lived there to the vet for treatment.

Sidney Lewis and his fiancee Jennifer DeCriscio discovered their house was full of smoke upon returning from the store, upon which they called 911, Lewis said in the aftermath of the blaze, as firefighters continued to work on the property.

DeCriscio was expected to remain overnight at the hospital and be released today, according to McCloskey.

DeCriscio was affected by the smoke when she went into the house to search for their pets, according to neighbor Maggie Morningstar.

The fire damage was confined to the kitchen, although smoke went all through the house, McCloskey said.

The fire is not suspicious, he said, but it will be up to a state police fire marshal to determine the cause.

In addition to Excelsior, firefighters from Greenwood and from Hookies and Neptune in Tyrone answered the call.

A firefighter from Greenwood was working nearby and got to the scene “instantly,” while additional firefighters from Greenwood and Excelsior arrived shortly thereafter, according to McCloskey.

Bug was the cat who may have died, according to Lewis. Mike and Penny are the others, he said. Penny ran away, and people at the scene were trying to find her.

Moon, a pitbull-terrier mix, and Kurt, a border collie-hound mix, were taken to the vet.

Lewis was hopeful they’ll be all right.

Zoey, a chihuahua-Yorkie mix — a “chorkie,” Lewis said — was carried away from the scene, apparently uninjured.

“I’m in a daze,” Lewis said at one point.

“Some days are good, some days are bad,” he said. “This is one of the bad ones.”

The couple moved up from Florida, Lewis’ native state, to this area, where DeCriscio grew up, a year and a half ago, according to Lewis.

They live with DeCriscio’s son Braden, 16.

“My bonus son,” Lewis said.

The family was planning to reach out to a friend for temporary living quarters, Lewis said.

There were a total of about 20 firefighters at the scene, along with several workers from AMED.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.