Monessen blaze destroys two buildings
Courtesy of Monessen Fire Department
Two buildings were destroyed in a Saturday morning fire in Monessen.
Courtesy of Monessen Fire Department
One of the buildings had to be demolished due to its age and damage caused by Saturday’s fire in Monessen.
A Monessen business was destroyed and another building severely damaged in a large fire Saturday morning.
Both of Monessen’s volunteer fire departments were called to the 400 block of Donner Avenue shortly after 9 a.m. Municipal Fire Chief Delmar Hepple said when they arrived, both the Any-Kind-A-Wear and the neighboring Boost Mobile store were engulfed in fire.
According to Hepple, there were multiple explosions in the rear of Boost Mobile, which was out of business at the time of the fire. He described the building as being about a 100-year-old wood frame structure.
“The building had to be demolished,” Hepple said, adding that the demolition took place Saturday night.
The source of the explosions and initial cause of the fire remain under investigation by the state police fire marshal.
Any-Kind-A-Wear, a tailor, was closed at the time of the fire. Hepple said there were no injuries.
More than a dozen fire companies came to assist Monessen firefighters, including Charleroi, North Belle Vernon, Carroll Township, Washington Township, Bentleyville and Sutersville departments.
Also responding were Mon Valley EMS, Rostraver EMS, Murrysville Medic One and Monessen police.