Slippery Rock house fire appears to be accident
SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — Firefighters are at the scene of an apparently accidental fire at a vacant house on Stamm Road.
The fire started about 10 a.m. today at the two-story home that was already planned to be demolished, said owner James Partridge.
“I was cleaning it up for hunting ground,” he said, noting that the house sits on 79 acres of property he bought several months ago.
Partridge said he was burning brush near the house and a contractor was cutting out copper inside when the fire started.
“I don't know if he caught something hot and started it, or I did it,” Partridge said. “Either way, it was accidental.”
Ryan Hanchosky, chief of the Slippery Rock Volunteer Fire Company, agreed. He said crews are making an exterior attack.
The house has been vacant for about a year.
Hanchosky said state police called in the fire.
