Dec 28, 2012 By Terri Johnsonstaff Writertjohnson@thealmanac.Net 2 min read

Two people died in a house fire in the early morning of Dec. 27, at 916 McNeilly Road, Mt. Lebanon. The case of the fatal fire is being investigated by the Allegheny County Fire Marshal.

The remains of Dennis Miller, 61, and his wife Susan Miller, 56, were found in the kitchen of their single-family brick home about 15 minutes after firefighters knocked down the flames, said Mt. Lebanon Fire Chief Nick Sohyda.

A neighbor called in the fire at 7:23 a.m. after spotting smoke and flames. When Sohyda arrived shortly after the call, he said he ran around the house and by then flames were showing through the roof. He said he believed the fire had been burning for at least 30 minutes before firefighters arrived.

“There was not a whole lot we could do,” Sohyda said.

Assisting Mt. Lebanon were firefighters from Castle Shannon, Dormont and Bethel Park.

The Millers were the only occupants of the house. A family dog also perished.

Sohyda said firefighters believed the couple was inside as neither worked and there were no tracks in the snow on the driveway. There were no smoke detectors in the house.

It took firefighters about 10 minutes to knock down the flames and about an hour until the fire was fully under control, the chief said.

He said oxygen was in use inside the home.