Fire destroys California home
CALIFORNIA – Volunteer firefighters from four fire stations battled a fire that gutted a California home Monday afternoon.
Flames tore through the building on Spear Street shortly before 2 p.m., destroying the interior of the residence owned by Walter Weld Jr. of California. The house is adjacent to Weld Towing Inc. Firefighters said no one was inside the home when the fire began. A dog was killed in the blaze.
No firefighters were injured.
Fire crews worked quickly to knock down the flames and were able to extinguish the fire before the shell of the home was destroyed. Firefighters accessed water from nearby fire hydrants.
After the flames were doused, thin wisps of gray and black smoke curled from the shingles of the home obscuring a plastic Santa Claus and reindeer mounted on the roof.
Volunteer firefighters from California, South Brownsville, Bentleyville and Fallowfield Township joined emergency personnel from Brownsville Ambulance and California police at the scene.
The state police fire marshal was called to investigate the cause of the blaze. Emergency officials speculated that the fire might have started at a wood-burning stove.