PITTSBURGH A police chief says a pigeon is to blame for a fire this morning at a coke oven just west of downtown Pittsburgh.

Ohio Township Chief Norbert Micklos says the pigeon flew into an electrical panel at a plant owned by Shenango on Neville Island about 7 a.m. today. Neville Island is on the Ohio River.

The resulting electrical short cut power to pumps that generate steam needed to control fire inside the coke oven.

Crews brought the fire under control within a couple of hours. There are no reports of injuries.

Coke is produced by baking coal and is used to fuel ovens for steelmaking and other industrial uses.

By The Associated Press