Norvelt Elementary School teacher Karen Visley is in the burn unit at West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh after escaping an early morning fire at her Fayette County home Monday.
The blaze at 108 E. Lake Road in the Bear Rocks section of Bullskin was reported at 1:53 a.m. and required firefighters from five departments to stay at the scene for four hours.
Her ex-husband, John Visley Sr., said Karen's injuries include burns over 50 percent of her body and some internal injuries. She remains in critical condition. Karen Visley has a 24-year-old son, John, and a 29-year-old daughter, Melissa.
State police fire marshals did not return calls seeking comment.
Visley Sr. said he was informed an extensive investigation into the cause of the fire could not be done until the remains of the structure are torn down, but it may have started in the living room.
Visley Sr. said he and the couple's children owe a debt of gratitude to the Jones family, who live just down the road.
"God bless those people," he said. "He's a fireman and she delivers Karen's mail, so when the call came over the scanner, the wife knew exactly where the home was.
"They went outside and looked up the street and saw the flames, so they ran to the house and found Karen lying in the driveway and got her away from the structure," Visley Sr. said.
Karen Visley crawled out of her bedroom window and jumped from a porch roof.
Darcie Gatti, principal at Norvelt Elementary School, said the students are concerned about their teacher.
"We're all kind of in limbo because we're not being updated on her condition," she said. "She is a very loved teacher."
Firefighters from Chestnut Ridge, Saltlick, Connellsville Township, Mt. Pleasant and Everson assisted Bullskin at the scene.
2 comments:
Hi Cyndi, Karen is my 9 year olds teacher, and we have just been beside ourselves about what happened. I am trying to organize a fundraiser for Karen and her family, I sell Pampered Chef and would like to do a ticket raffle to raise funds, but I have to go through the "higher up's" in the school board. The last fund raiser I did like this I raised $7,000 so I am REALLY pushing this. Maybe a phone call from a family member or friend would help speed up the process. The contact info is Mr Watson @ Mt Pleasant school District. The number is 724-547-4100 you have to enter the prompt to speak to the administration office, then ask for him. I was also wondering if I could get an update on Karen, no one here wants to tell us anything and all they are telling the kids is that she won't be back at school for a while. My prayers are with her and her family non stop, she is a wonderful woman, and will get through this with our help. She needs to know how much she is loved. My name is Stephanie Smeltz, my email is slj1229@aol.com
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