Fire chief: No ‘super arsonist’ in Monessen

By TAYLOR BROWN

tbrown@yourmvi.com

Monessen Municipal Fire Chief Delmar Hepple doesn’t want residents to be afraid after a recent string of fires in the city. 

In less than two weeks, city firefighters have responded to seven alarms. However, Hepple said there’s no reason for residents to be afraid or suspicious. 

Six of the seven fires have been accidental, Hepple suspects, though an official cause for some of them has not been determined. 

While some of the homes were abandoned, fires have spread to neighboring abandoned homes, sparking rumors on social media about an alleged “super arsonist.”

“You know how Facebook and social media can be,” Hepple said. “Yes, we have had a rash of fires, but at least six out of seven of them have been accidental or electrical. 

“We are still waiting for a few causes to be determined, but there is nothing happening here that I would presume to be suspicious or that I think residents in the city need to worry over. It’s unfortunate that we have been this busy, but there is no reason to be afraid or suspect there is an arsonist in Monessen.” 

The most recent fire on Wednesday started in a home under renovation on Ninth Street. An electrical issue sparked the flames, which quickly spread to an abandoned house close by.

“People on the scene saw this big ball of fire, that they thought came from the abandoned house,” Hepple said. “But the fire did not start in that abandoned house. It was the other way around, so you can’t always believe what you see. We have to get the fire out, strip down the house before we can truly find out what happened.” 

To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Friday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.