Firefighters battle Monessen blaze

A fire on McKee Avenue in Monessen Thursday night pushed firefighters out of the house when fireworks or pistol rounds began going off inside.

Crews were called to a three-story wooden house around 10:30 p.m. for a porch fire, but once on scene firefighters described heavy flames on the second and third floors. According to radio traffic during the incident, both Monessen departments were on scene in addition to several others.

Almost immediately, the fire crews were asking for more water and more water pressure. After about 15 minutes, firefighters working inside the house reported the sound of fireworks or pistol rounds going off and had to evacuate the building until they were spent.

The fire continued to be heavy, and as additional departments arrived they were asked to hook into hydrants on neighboring streets and to run the hoses down the hill to the rear of the house. 

Reed Avenue and Oneida Street were blocked off.

Dispatch called in to let the firefighters know the water company was turning the water pressure up as high as possible and sending a representative to the scene.

Just before 11 p.m., crews were pulled out of the house again as firefighters outside noticed the roof was starting to go and the chimney looked unstable. The departments used an aerial attack and had firefighters on top of neighboring roofs to get better views on stability. Interior crews went back inside, but at about 11:10 the decision was made to pull them back out and finish fighting the fire from the outside.

Crews were still working on the blaze at midnight. 

— Kristie Linden