It was a busy night and morning for firefighters in the Johnstown area Thursday morning as not one but two stubborn fires broke out in different neighborhoods...one of them in a vacant house.
The first fire began in a house in Upper Yoder Township. Fire officials tell Channel 6 they received the call around 1:50 am and by noon the roof was still smoldering.
Fire Marshal Timothy Frew says, "There's a room set aside downstairs probably 12X12 just for the power, the furnace, and everything else. That's where the fire started...in that room."
The fire marshal says the blaze was electrical. He says the house is old and being remodeled. The reason for the smoldering is the roof consists of two levels of metal slabs. One collapsed on the other and materials were burning in between. A bulldozer will tear the top off the roof so firefighters can stop the smoldering.
While the Upper Yoder fire is accidental, Johnstown officials say the morning fire along Franklin Street is suspicious. Fire Chief Anthony Kovacic says no electricity runs through the building. It was actually used by the fire department for training.
When crews arrived on scene, the house was fully engulfed. Kovacic tells Channel 6 the fire possibly started in the basement. Crews on scene say the fire was a bit of a challenge.
Johnstown's Assistant Fire Chief Art Martynuska says, "Because of the dilapidated condition of the building, we can't make interior attacks, so everything we did had to be done with the exterior."
The fire did rekindle less than an hour after crews left the scene, but they managed to quickly get it under control and put it out.
The State Police Fire Marshal says the house in Upper Yoder Township is not considered a total loss, but the damage is extensive and he says it'll probably be cheaper for the owners to tear it down and start over.
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