Jeannette building near fire deemed unsafe
A three-story building on Clay Avenue has been tagged as uninhabitable by Jeannette officials in the aftermath of a major fire next door on Saturday night.
The building, owned by Michael and Peggyann O'Bradovich, sustained enough damage that it is “unfit for human occupancy,” according to Ed Howley, code enforcement officer.
“As (the smoke) was billowing out, it was going into our building,” said Peggyann O'Bradovich, who helplessly watched over the weekend as flames destroyed the larger structure, then rekindled. “The buildings are so close, there's really nothing you can do about it.”
The couple has owned the Clay Avenue building for six years and have two tenants — Guys and Dolls Hair Parlor and a Jackson Hewitt tax preparation agency — in addition to a gathering space for their motorcycle club on the upper floors.
Firefighters spent more than 24 hours battling flames and extinguishing “hot spots” at the condemned, three-story building at the corner of Clay Avenue and Fifth Street after the fire was reported at 10:30 p.m. That building — it once housed a dollar store and a duck pin bowling alley — collapsed, and the city hired a demolition crew to remove rubble at the site this week.
The cause remains under investigation.
The O'Bradoviches' building has water, smoke, structural and fire damage. They are awaiting information from their insurance company before deciding how to proceed, Peggyann O'Bradovich said.
“We're kind of at a standstill right now,” she said.
To have the occupancy restriction lifted, the owners must repair the damage and have an engineer inspect the building to determine if it is stable, then submit a report to the city, Howley said.
Around the corner along Fifth Street, the Jeannette American Legion Post also was damaged by smoke and water and is closed. A cleanup crew worked Wednesday inside the building. A sign on the door indicated that a May 1 bingo has been canceled.
Traffic has been restricted on Clay Avenue and Fifth Street as the fire debris is removed behind a section blocked off with yellow police tape. Officials hope to open those streets to all traffic by the weekend, said police Chief Shannon Binda and city manager Michael Nestico.
As cleanup work continued Wednesday, bricks lay scattered on the sidewalk and heavy machinery was removing debris from the building's basement.
“We are handcuffed at this time from going much further,” Nestico said. “It may sit there for a little while, so we will make it safe.”
The property is owned by city businessman Frank Trigona's Rufus Corp. Trigona died in August and the property is going through the judicial sale process. Delinquent taxes on the property dating to 2009 have reached about $50,000, according to the Westmoreland County tax claim bureau. The city health board condemned the property in March.
The fire has forced the O'Bradoviches to move their motorcycle club's kickoff party Saturday to another location. In February city council approved the club's request to block off parking spaces along Clay Avenue for the party, but Binda said Wednesday the concern for safety was too great to allow the event.
Peggyann O'Bradovich said it is frustrating that the fate of an abandoned property affected their building and tenants.
“This is their livelihood,” she said. “I just feel so bad for them.”
Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 724-837-5374 or rsignorini@tribweb.com.
