State police fire marshals investigating Arnold house fire
Mylinda Murray watched Sunday afternoon as state police fire marshals shoveled debris from the charred front entrance of her vacant Arnold home.
Murray said she had to abandon her home of 25 years in 2015 for financial reasons, but that didn't make it easier seeing its smoldering remains after fire heavily damaged the Taylor Avenue structure Sunday.
“I have a lot of memories here,” Murray said. “Even when my kids were grown, we'd always have Thanksgiving and Christmas here.”
Arnold fire Chief J.C. Tedorski said the front of the house was engulfed when first responders arrived shortly after 11 a.m. Sunday.
Tedorski said firefighters were able to contain the damage to the front of the three-story building and prevent it from spreading to the neighboring house that's about six feet away. No one was injured.
Tedorski and Trooper Chet Bell from the fire marshal unit in Greensburg could not immediately confirm reports from neighbors that two boys were playing inside the house immediately before the fire. Neighbors believed the red bicycle left on the sidewalk in front of the house belonged to one of the boys.
Arnold police could not be reached for comment on whether the boys had been located or interviewed.
Bell said he and Troopers Keith Sobecki and Thomas Dohey were sifting through the debris to search for a cause. Bell said the fire started on the front porch, which had burned and collapsed into the basement.
No utilities were connected to the house, and it was not insured.
Before firefighters arrived, Arnold police Officer David Clouse pounded on the door of next-door neighbor Deneen Sobota to alert her and her family to get out.
Watching television on the lower level, Sobota said she didn't know about the fire and at first thought it was neighborhood kids knocking on her door.
Sobota, her 12-year-old daughter Alexa Lasher and one of her friends all got out safely. Sobota said Clouse helped her remove her three dogs and pet bird.
Sobota didn't have time to grab her boots; she stood in a neighbor's yard wearing slippers soaked from the water running down the sloped street.
When Murray's porch collapsed, it slightly damaged the front corner of Sobota's roof, which she said was replaced nine months ago. Sobota's home is insured.
Later in the afternoon, Sobota's 19-year-old son, Austin, said there didn't appear to be any damage inside other than the smell of smoke. Power from the charred pole in front of the two houses had not yet been restored and the Sobotas couldn't see clearly inside.
The intense heat caused slight damage to the back of Deneen Sobota's car that was parked out front.
Sobota said the fire reinforces her concerns about living between two abandoned houses; she said she's had to call police several times about people trespassing in the empty buildings.
Murray said people have broken into her home several times since she abandoned it. The last time she was inside was almost a year ago, when she saw that obscenities had been painted on the walls and her kitchen had been vandalized.
“They destroyed the inside of my house,” Murray said.
Murray's house is two doors down from a vacant house at the corner of North Street that was damaged by a suspicious fire in 2012; charred white siding remains between the boarded doors and windows. On the sidewalk in front is a weathered memorial to Donald Lee Williams, who was fatally shot in the street in December.
Pointing out vacant homes across the street, Sobota said, “I'm definitely concerned.”
Liz Hayes is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at lhayes@tribweb.com or 724-226-4680.
