Jan 22, 2022 3 min read

A fire at an abandoned building in Uniontown is under investigation.

Uniontown fire chief Scott Conn said the call came in shortly after 8:45 p.m. Friday for a fire at 96 Murray Ave.

“When we got there, (we realized) it was the home that was the scene of a couple of previous fires,” Conn said. “So, we were familiar with the whole scenario. We did know that it was a vacant home, but there’s always the chance of squatters or whatever the case may be. 

Conn explained that the fire looked “attackable” when firefighters first arrived on the scene.

“We attempted to make an attack on it,” Conn said. “But the fire gained headway in a lot of the concealed spaces. Plus, the house was compromised from a previous fire. We had all of that against us, so we started pulling all of the crews out.”

This put firefighters on a defensive attack of the fire, in which they battled the blaze from the outside with larger exterior lines.

Conn said there were a few issues that crews had to battle, including the frigid temperatures and someone driving a car through the police barricade and taking out the fire hydrant that was being used.

Tankers had to be called in to provide an alternative water supply.

“After a lot of hard work and a few stumbling blocks along the way, we managed to get the fire out,” Conn said. “Everybody just worked incredibly well together. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without the help of our Mutual Aid companies, the ambulance crews, the police, the street department. For a bad situation, it all came together and went really well.”

There were no injuries reported as a result of the fire. Conn was pleasantly surprised by the fact that none of the emergency personnel that responded were injured, especially since the roads were icy. He said the street department were diligent about putting salt and ash on the area around the scene to keep it safe for the firefighters.

Fayette Emergency Medical Services supplied a rehab/warming station, which allowed crews to have a place to go to get warm or receive fluids.

“That was vital,” Conn said. “That was a godsend, not only for the fire units, but everybody who responded.”

Other fire companies responding to the scene were Hopwood, South Union, North Union, West Leisenring and Fairchance.