House fires keep city department busy
The side of the house where the garage was located at this home on Franklin Street in Washington sustained the most damage from a blaze Sunday night.
A house on Franklin Street in Washington was heavily damaged by a fire Sunday night that rekindled Monday.
Washington firefighters were kept busy Sunday night and early Monday responding to a fire in the 600 block of North Franklin Street and another in the 400 block of North Main Street that sent a mother and young son to the hospital.
Fire Chief Linn Brookman said a state police fire marshal is investigating the cause of a fire reported at 6:17 p.m. Sunday in a two-story house at 633 N. Franklin St.
Firefighters were called back to the scene twice Monday morning, about 5 a.m. and again just before 10 a.m., when the fire rekindled in the garage. Brookman said the roof of the garage collapsed, making it difficult to put out hot spots.
Washington police said the initial call was for a garage on fire. Brookman said he was first on the scene and found the front of the house on fire.
Glenn Robert Conklin, who lived at the house with Megan Fairchild Hahr, told police he was cooking on a gas grill in the driveway when the propane tank exploded. Police said they found the tank still intact.
Hahr, who was across the street at her mother’s residence, and Conklin gave differing accounts as to whether the garage door was open or closed, police said. Conklin indicated it was open, but she said it had been closed. Police said she had gone to her mother’s because the two had gotten into a dispute.
The family’s cat died in the fire. Brookman said the cause of the fire is still under investigation. The fire marshal is talking to the residents of the house.
City firefighters were called at 4:47 a.m. Monday to a fire in a first-floor apartment at 448 N. Main St. Brookman said the fire was caused by a malfunctioning stereo. Jessica Yerger and her 2-year-old son were taken to Washington Hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation. Brookman said there were no smoke detectors in the apartment.
The rapid intervention teams from the North Strabane and Peters Township fire departments both responded to the fire on North Franklin, while North Strabane’s RIT assisted with the North Main fire.