Standard Ave. fire 'suspicious'
A fire Tuesday night that badly damaged an occupied rental home has been labeled “suspicious.”
Firefighters were able to contain the roaring blaze to one room at 142 Standard Ave.
“They did a (heck) of a job,” said Capt. Kevin McAfee of the Butler Fire Department. “When they got there the fire was blowing out the front and side windows, and they contained it to that room.”
The fire started in an upstairs storage room of a two-story house around 7:45 p.m. Butler police helped evacuate the six occupants, which included two children, the youngest being 3 months.
No injuries were reported.
Butler police identified the four adults living there as Janice Davis, 64; Harrison Daniels, 27; Louise Daniels, 26; and John Conley, 28.
Firefighters had the majority of the fire extinguished in around 10 minutes using compressed air foam.
Fans were used to blow the smoke from the house.
The room sustained severe damage, while the upstairs sustained smoke damage and the first floor sustained water damage.
McAfee estimated damage at $25,000 to the structure and another $10,000 to the contents.The homeowner, Troy Sellers of Butler, had insurance; the occupants had no renter's insurance.The cause of the fire, while undetermined, is suspicious, authorities said. No other information was availableTrooper David Jungling, a deputy fire marshal, is leading the investigation but he did not return a telephone call this morning.The Butler chapter of the American Red Cross was contacted to provide food and shelter to the people who were living in the house.Assisting Butler firefighters and police were the VA Fire Department, South Butler Volunteer Fire Department and Butler Township Volunteer District 3. Butler Ambulance Service also was called to the scene.<i>Eagle staff writer Jim Smith contributed to this report.</i>
