A firefighter inspects the damage to the house at 143 Roe Ave. in Butler Township on Tuesday.

BUTLER TWP — Fire heavily damaged the home owned by Patty Deal on Tuesday, but this was not the first tragedy she has had to endure from a fire.

Nearly 30 years ago her husband died in a fire in Butler.

In July 1987 Charles J. Deal was killed when a chimney and floor collapsed and buried him during an early morning fire at 121 S. Chestnut St.

Deal was a Butler firefighter who was on the building's second floor when the collapse occurred.

The fire Tuesday morning severely damaged her one-story home at 143 Roe Ave in Butler Township. Fire companies were called there at 8:12 a.m., according to Butler County Emergency Services.

They arrived to find heavy smoke and flames at the rear of the home, said Dave Bestwick, assistant chief of Butler Township Volunteer Fire Station 3.

Firefighters from Station 3, South Butler and VA Butler Healthcare extinguished the fire, and Bestwick said the woman who lives there by herself — identified by township Fire Marshal Larry Christy as Deal — escaped unharmed. She declined to comment Tuesday.

The fire, which rose high enough to singe the leaves of a nearby tree, left most of the home's backyard burned black. It destroyed a porch attached to the rear of the home. It also caused “substantial damage” to the home's rear exterior and interior wall.

Christy said he estimated the fire caused $150,000 to $175,000 in damage to the home.

Christy said Tuesday afternoon that he believed the fire to be accidental, and that it began outside the home on the rear porch. However the cause continued to be unclear.

He said fire officials stated an investigation into the cause but suspended that Tuesday afternoon after speaking with the insurance company covering the home.

“We don't want to do any more digging or disturbing the scene if they are going to be sending out (an investigator),” Christy said, adding that township officials would work with insurance company investigators if they were sent to the home.Station 3 remained there until about 10:15 a.m. Tuesday as investigators continued to look into the blaze.The 1987 fire on South Chestnut Street was ruled an arson. Investigators ultimately determined that it was set by Eugene Sales, 38, who died from third degree burns he suffered when gasoline he was spraying onto that building and a neighboring building at 119 S. Chestnut St. exploded.

Crews stay at the scene of the fire, which destroyed a porch attached to the rear of the home. The home is owned by Patty Deal.