Cause of Franklin Township house fire unknown
The state police fire marshal announced this week that he was unable to determine the cause of the fire that heavily damaged a Greene County house and destroyed the nearby garage last month.
The fire started shortly after midnight June 21 inside the detached garage and then spread to the house at 353 Washington Road in Franklin Township, fire marshal Douglas Rush said in a new release Monday.
The house’s two occupants, Dorothy Welsh, 81, and Earl Welsh, 62, were uninjured in the blaze, the fire marshal said.
The burned-out carcass of a pickup truck was all that remained within the garage, while the rear of the house was heavily damaged by the fire. The windows of the house were boarded up, and there appeared to be substantial damage inside the residence, which sits at the intersection of Route 19 at Tollgate Run Road.
The fire marshal estimated that the blaze caused about $200,000 worth of damage to the buildings and possessions.
Waynesburg-Franklin volunteer firefighters were assisted at the scene by departments from Center Township, Jefferson and Rices Landing.