Blaze at former Pittsburgh Glass Works plant not caused by underground fire, authorities say

Debris from a building being torn down at the former Pittsburgh Glass Works plant in East Deer caught fire over the weekend, a fire chief said.

The fire wasn’t caused by an underground coal refuse fire that has been burning at the former plant site for several years, according to East Deer Fire Chief Jack Bailie Jr.

Lewis Brothers, Inc. had been tearing down a building on the site, and leftover debris including fiber board, wood and insulation caught fire, Bailie said. It’s unknown what started the fire, which was reported around 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Because the fire damaged only the pile of debris and no one was hurt, it is not being investigated further, Bailie said.

Responding firefighters had to cut through a chain link fence to run hoses to the site because their trucks couldn’t get to where the fire was, Bailie said.

The fire chief said he used the demolition contractor’s excavator to dig through the rubble to get to the source of the fire. It took firefighters about an hour to put it out.

Creighton Property Holdings LLC bought the property for $1.25 million in October. The company is owned by Cliff Forrest, who also owns the Kittanning-based Rosebud Mining Co.

Jim Barker, executive vice president at Rosebud Mining Co., told the Tribune-Review earlier this year the company had plans to clean up the site, including tearing down a building over the coal stockpile area.

Earlier this year, Barker said officials would wait for the underground fire to burn out before tearing that building down.

Barker said Monday that officials decided to tear the building down now because the underground fire is “pretty close” to burning out and the contractor was available.

Barker couldn’t say when the fire is expected to burn out.