Backyard fire pit sparked blaze that destroyed abandoned house, damaged 2nd home in New Kensington

An ember from a backyard fire pit accidentally sparked a brush fire Wednesday that destroyed an abandoned building in New Kensington and heavily damaged the home next door, according to investigators.

The brush fire was reported just before 3 p.m. April 12 in the 800 block of Franklin Avenue and quickly spread to the vacant house and then to the occupied home next door.

A state police fire marshal determined the cause of the fire was accidental, according to New Kensington fire Chief Ed Saliba Jr. No injuries were reported during the incident.

Saliba said a resident in a nearby home was using a fire pit when an ember ignited a bush.

“The bush set the fence it was up against ablaze, and it moved toward the vacant house at 849 Franklin,” Saliba said.

He said the vacant house was wood frame with clapboard covered in vinyl siding and ignited quickly.

“The winds just fed the fire,” he said. “The abandoned house had a couple of holes in the roof, and there was a nice draft to pull the flames all the way up.”

Flames from the abandoned house ignited the rear corner of the two-story home next door, which also is wood frame and covered in siding, and traveled up the exterior and into the roof eaves, Saliba said.

A red flag warning for fire conditions issued by the National Weather Service was in effect for the region that day because of a combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures.

A weather reporting station in New Kensington showed wind gusting to 17 mph on Wednesday with relative humidity around 25%, according to Michael Brown, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service office in Moon.

The humidity threshold for a red flag warning is 30% humidity and lower, he said.

The first firefighters on the scene focused on switching back and forth between the two houses to extinguish flames on the outside of the building, the chief said.

Once a second hose line was set up, a crew went inside the occupied building and put out the fire in the second-floor apartment, which required opening holes in the walls and roof, Saliba said.

Firefighters were able to knock down most of the fire in the abandoned building from the outside. A crew was able to enter the front portion of the building to finish the job after officers checked to make sure the floor was stable.

“We were very cautious going into that building. It’s not something that’s worth getting hurt or killed over,” Saliba said.

The abandoned house was marked with a red “X” — a sign to firefighters that it’s unsafe.

Saliba said city officials are working with Westmoreland County to expedite demolition of what remains of the abandoned structure.

While open burning for things such as building materials, rubbish or yard waste is prohibited in New Kensington, residents are not required to get a permit to use a fire pit.

Saliba said the woman who was using the fire pit went inside her home to retrieve a fire extinguisher, but it failed to work when she tried putting out the fire.

“By the time she was able to get some water, it already starting spreading,” he said.

The chief said city code enforcement officials will determine whether any citations will be issued as result of her actions.