Monessen house fire viewed as suspicious
Tuesday’s blaze is the latest in a string of suspicious fires in the city.
An abandoned house fire in Monessen Tuesday evening is believed to be suspicious.
Several fire departments responded to the blaze at 704 Ninth St. around 6:43 p.m.
Municipal Fire Chief Delmar Hepple said it was fortunate that both Monessen fire departments had meetings that night so volunteers were already at their respective stations.
When crews pulled up to the scene, the fire was fully involved in the two-and-a-half story, woodframe structure, which had been abandoned for years.
The flames were so heavy, Hepple said, they were endangering another occupied structure next door.
Hepple believes the fire is suspicious in nature, similar to other incidents over the past several months.
In April, firefighters responded to another blaze on Rostraver Street in the city that was suspected to be arson. That fire brought that abandoned building to the ground, but no charges were ever filed.
In January, a suspicious fire broke FIRE •A2
Jenn Codeluppi / Mon Valley Independent out at a small community gym on Motheral Avenue, sending one firefighter to the hospital. No arrests were made in that incident.
Hepple said the number of suspicious fires in the city is becoming frustrating.
“It’s senseless,” he said. Crews from Monessen No. 1 and Monessen Hilltop were first to respond Tuesday before additional help was called in because of the heat.
Firefighters were assisted on scene by Carroll Township, Charleroi, North Belle Vernon, Donora, Washington Township, Bentleyville Fire Rescue and Monessen police. Mon Valley EMS and Fayette EMS provided rehabilitations for crews working the scene in extreme heat.
The Salvation Army was also on hand to serve drinks and food to first responders. The Mid Mon Valley Transit Authority responded to the scene with a bus to allow first responders a safe place to cool off.
Hepple is grateful to all the agencies who responded to incidents in the city in the past 24 hours.
Crews spent hours overnight working a search detail and did not return home until 5 a.m.
“Between the search last night tying up outside agencies and the fire today, it’s just great that we have so many first responders that are so close knit,” Hepple said. “They have spent a lot of time here in the past 24 hours, in this heat, we’re just really thankful for them and their hard work.”
Crews remained on scene until about 9:30 p.m., and the state fire marshal has been called in to investigate. No injuries were reported.
Hepple said because the fire is suspicious in nature, residents can help by reporting any information or surveillance footage to police.
“There weren’t working cameras that we could find, so if anyone saw anything or has cameras that caught something, we would really appreciate any help,” Hepple said.
Anyone who saw anything suspicious or has information can anonymously report it by calling Monessen police at 724-684-4620.
