May 17, 2021 1 min read

The state police fire marshal’s office is investigating the cause of a blaze that destroyed a vacant house early Monday in Nottingham Township.

The ranch-style house in the 3100 block of Route 136 was heavily engulfed in flames after firefighters were sent there about 3 a.m., said John Curcio Jr., chief of Valley Inn Volunteer Fire Department in nearby Carroll Township.

Curcio said he had yet to be told Monday afternoon how the fire started. Investigators were unsure about who owned the property, he said.

He said the woman who lived there has been in a personal care home and that a relative had been checking on the house.

State police also were investigating a recent theft from the property. A sign on a car parked outside a garage door indicated a surveillance camera had captured evidence of the crime.

Flames were shooting through the roof during the fire, which also closed Route 136 in the area to traffic.

Firefighters from Bentleyville, North Strabane Township and Finleyville assisted.