Fire heavily damages Washington apartment building

A fire heavily damaged an apartment building that had once been a bar on Michigan Avenue near Maple Avenue in Washington early Sunday, forcing one of the tenants to jump off a rear roof with his dog to escape.
Fire Chief Gerald Coleman said the call came in about 4:40 a.m. of a porch on fire at 1090 Michigan. He said the building, which had formerly been a bar, was converted into three apartments.
The Washington County 911 center got multiple reports of the fire, including from newspaper carriers delivering in the area, Coleman said. When city firefighters arrived, the fire had spread up the back of the building into the attic and roof.
“One of the residents of the building woke up and saw what he thought was a light,” Coleman said. “He had been sleeping at the bottom of the stairs and thought the light was coming from upstairs. When he went up the stairs, he saw the fire.”
That man woke his roommate and yelled for a tenant in another apartment. The man and his roommate were able to escape out the door. The man in the other apartment took his dog, climbed out of the window onto a roof and jumped, Coleman said. No injuries were reported. No one is believed to have been in the third apartment at the time of the fire.
Coleman said the people who lived in the building are staying with family members.
The fire was declared under control in an hour, Coleman said.
The state police fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire. Coleman said it does not appear to be suspicious or intentionally set. Insurance adjusters were expected at the apartment building to further assess damage, he added.
Coleman said there was significant damage to the back of the building. He believes a metal door at the back of the building prevented more fire from spreading to the interior and causing more damage.
“That door also gave the tenants more time to get out,” he added.
Assisting were firefighters from Canton, North Strabane, Peters and South Strabane townships. North Franklin firefighters were on standby at the city’s station.