West Mifflin home destroyed by fire

An abandoned West Mifflin house damaged by fire several years ago was destroyed by a second fire early on Monday.

“The building started collapsing as soon as I pulled up,” Homeville Volunteer Fire Co. Chief Dave Martin said as he arrived shortly after 12:30 a.m. at 3412 West St.

The fire scene was a short distance from the Homeville fire hall.

“We had a fire in there probably six or seven years ago and it was investigated by the (Allegheny County) fire marshal,” Martin said. “It was fully involved and already collapsing.”

A rapid intervention team from Glassport would not be needed as Homeville (West Mifflin No. 1), Duquesne Annex (West Mifflin No. 2), Duquesne and Homestead volunteers worked for an hour to control the blaze.

According to Allegheny County real estate records, the home was obtained by a consumer finance company in 1996 and sold in 2009 for $7,500 to a Philadelphia woman.

County assessors valued the home at $51,500 and the surrounding property at $18,100.

The fire briefly threatened a nearby structure along Duquesne Avenue in West Mifflin's Homeville neighborhood.

“It was the only exposure problem we had,” Martin said. “They were about 10 feet away from each other.”

No one was home at the Duquesne Avenue residence and no evacuations were needed.

There were reports that a break-in occurred at that address on Friday.

“The (West Mifflin borough) police were there Friday,” Martin said.

Borough police are working with the county fire marshal's office in the investigation.

Trib Total Media news exchange partner WPXI-11 contributed to this story. Patrick Cloonan is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-664-9161, ext. 1967, or pcloonan@tribweb.com.