Fire marshal: Blaze at abandoned New Kensington house appears suspicious

The cause of a blaze Thursday evening that destroyed a vacant house on Third Avenue in New Kensington will be difficult to determine, a fire official said Friday.

State police Fire Marshal Keith Sobecki said the house was vacant, but there was evidence squatters had lived there at some point. He said the vacant houses surrounding the building that burned down also appear to have had people living inside.

“The fire appears suspicious, but the cause will likely be ruled as undetermined because of the condition of the building,” he said. “The floor is gone, so I’m not really able to get in there to get a good look.”

The building had no electricity, eliminating faulty wiring as a cause.

Firefighters from multiple companies were called to battle the blaze. The initial fire call was reported about 7:45 p.m. in the 900 block of Third Avenue.

But the house actually is at the rear of the lot and fronts Spruce Alley. There is a small courtyard between it and the house fronting Third Avenue. The house on Third Avenue was next to what used to be Bitar’s sandwich shop.

B.J. Kersey, assistant chief with New Kensington Volunteer Fire Department, said all of the buildings clustered around the building that burned — about midway between Ninth and 10th streets — are empty.

Despite the fact that the buildings are just feet from each other, Kersey said the firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading.

Fire departments from New Kensington, Arnold, Lower Burrell and Tarentum were among those responding. No injuries were reported.

Fire scene in downtown New Kensington. pic.twitter.com/Eh3ghYAETh

— Brian Rittmeyer (@BCRittmeyer) October 21, 2022