Cause of Jeannette fire believed to be accidental
Jeannette Fire Chief Bill Frye believes a fire that damaged three homes this month was accidental.
Frye said Thursday that he believes the April 9 blaze was electrical and started in the space behind a wall on the first floor of the Gaskill Avenue home. No one was there at the time. There was substantial damage to the home owned by Pamela Kwaczala, Frye said.
A state police fire marshal is investigating.
The blaze spread quickly to two neighboring houses just feet away shortly after 4 a.m. No one was hurt. A duplex that was damaged is owned by Charles Schade, according to county records. A woman escaped from a unit there after firefighters woke her.
The other home, which is vacant, belongs to the estate of deceased owners and also was damaged, Frye said.
Renatta Signorini is a TribLive reporter covering breaking news, crime, courts and Jeannette. She has been working at the Trib since 2005. She can be reached at rsignorini@triblive.com.
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