No one injured in Mushrush Road fire
JEFFERSON TWP — No one was injured Wednesday morning, Sept. 3, in a two-alarm fire at a duplex in the 600 block of Mushrush Road, where an interior collapse caused firefighters to retreat.
Firefighters were dispatched around 11:30 a.m. when a neighbor reported seeing smoke coming from the roof of the vacant home.
Chris Dean, chief of Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company, said the fire firefighter who arrived at the home first saw a lot of smoke
“He saw heavy smoke pushing from the second floor,” Dean said.
An entry team of firefighters encountered “heavy fire” inside the home, but were ordered to withdraw when parts of the interior began to collapse, Dean said.
He said he does not know how long the fire was burning before firefighters arrived or how the fire started. No one had been in the house since Tuesday, he added.
The home has fire damage throughout the structure. A state police fire marshal was contacted to determine the cause, he said.
Firefighters had the fire under control by about 2 p.m.
“I’m glad no one was home. It’s just stuff,” said owner Darrin Mead.
He said he and his wife had a lot of belongings in the home, which was in the final stages of preparing to be rented. He said the home is insured.
The Buffalo Township, Butler Township, East Butler, Herman Middlesex, and Penn Township volunteer fire departments also responded to the fire. The West Deer Township Volunteer Fire Company was sent to the Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company’s station to serve as back up.
