Juvenile charged in connection with 4 fires in Kittanning

Kittanning police said a juvenile is in custody and has been charged for allegedly setting a string of fires Monday morning in the borough.

Kittanning Hose Company No. 4 Assistant Chief Mike Swartz said about a dozen departments responded to four fires within a four-block radius, with the first call coming around 6:45 a.m.

Sites include a duplex under construction along the 500 block of Woodward Avenue, a structure at a nearby alley along the 500 block of Hawthorn Avenue and an occupied house along the 600 block of Hawthorn Avenue.

A woman was able to escape from that house, but her four cats perished.

Swartz said a home along the 500 block of Woodward Avenue sustained minor damage to the front of the house while a nearby garage apartment was severely damaged.

No one was injured, and initial reports indicate they all started as rubbish fires that spread to the buildings.

“They are definitely suspicious,” Swartz said. “We’ve got an excellent water system in town. We strategically got everything in place quickly. We had so many departments in here. It could have been a lot worse. We could have had other structures involved because a lot of these structures are only a few feet apart. Firefighters did an extremely good job keeping these fires to where they were.”

Firefighters from Manor, West Kittanning, Worthington, Ford City, East Franklin and Parks townships were among those called in Monday.

Swartz said officials will be reviewing surveillance footage from neighbors.

State fire marshal and borough police are investigating.