Allegheny County

Foul play being investigated after 2 buildings caught fire in Homestead

HOMESTEAD, Pa. — The Fire Marshal is investigating the possibility of foul play after two vacant homes were engulfed in flames Wednesday afternoon.

Dozens of fire departments from the surrounding area responded to calls just after 6:30 p.m. on West Street near Locust Alley in Homestead.

Ryan Robinson says he was driving down West Street when he saw the smoke. He tells Channel 11 he pulled a U-turn and jumped out of his car.

“I ran up on the inside corner of the other house, yelled and made sure nobody was in there,” Robinson said. He said when he didn’t hear anyone screaming from inside the houses, he was thanking God nobody was inside.

Within minutes, the fire from the first home had spread to a neighboring duplex. Crews worked for hours to attack the fire and put out hot spots in 80-degree temperatures and extremely dangerous firefighting conditions.

Nobody was hurt from the fire or battling the flames. The Fire Marshal is investigating and will determine what started the fire.