Fire damages Butler home
Emergency crews responded to a structure fire at a home at 441 Mercer St. near Butler Memorial Park Monday afternoon.
No one was injured.
Multiple witnesses, including a local contractor and a neighbor, reported that they believe the home had been vacant for some time.
Butler City Fire Department Lt. Richard Walters Jr. said the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
“When we pulled up, the front was on fire,” Walters said describing damage to the front entrance, first floor and some of the second floor.
A damage estimate was not available.
Walters said that an electric line connected to the house fell following their arrival.
Butler City, Butler Township Volunteer Fire District and the Department of Veterans Affairs Fire departments responded to the initial call shortly before 2 p.m.
West Penn Power officials confirmed a line to the house was disconnected because of the fire. No additional outages were reported related to the fire.
Antoine Pollard, a local contractor working on a building further down the street, said he saw the wire hanging from a utility pole across the street
“I saw the wire sparking and flailing,” he said.
Pollard said he was employed by the landlord of the house that caught fire and the two neighboring buildings. He was working at a neighboring building at the time.
Elizabeth Jimenez, a neighbor across the street from the fire, said she was cooking for her children when she heard a loud noise that she thought was thunder immediately preceding the fire.
“I was cooking when I saw the flames (through the window),” she said.
“I heard thunder and then I told my son I saw smoke. It was burning right away.”
Walters could not confirm the cause of the fire.
