Dec 11, 2025 By Mike Jones 2 min read

Crews were called out Tuesday night to two fires in Washington County, including one in which firefighters pulled a man from a burning home.

Several departments were called to the 300 block of Malone Ridge Road in Canton Township about 5:30 p.m. with reports of a person still inside, a Washington County 911 dispatch supervisor said.

Canton Township volunteer firefighters were able to locate the man and help him get out of the house safely. He was not seriously injured and did not require transport to the hospital, the dispatcher said.

Fire departments from Chartiers, Mt. Pleasant and South Strabane townships assisted Canton Township firefighters at the scene, along with medics from Washington County Ambulance & Chair. Information on the extent of the damage to the house and the cause of the fire were not immediately available.

Hours later, North Strabane firefighters responded to a blaze at a vacant house in the township near the municipal line with Canonsburg. North Strabane fire Chief Mark Grimm said crews were called to 452 Old Pike Street that runs parallel with Morganza Road about 10 p.m. Tuesday and found the abandoned house engulfed in flames.

Grimm said there were reports of squatters inside the house before the blaze was reported and police officers were called to the neighborhood about 30 minutes earlier for the sound of an explosion near the house, although they did not locate any criminal activity at the time. The fire caused “extensive damage” to the house, Grimm said, although firefighters searched the structure and no one was inside and no injuries were reported.

“It appears there may have been some squatters in there because there were no utilities in the house,” Grimm said.

The state police fire marshal is investigating the cause of the blaze. North Strabane firefighters were assisted at the scene by departments from Canonsburg, Peters Township, Houston, Chartiers Township, Cecil Township and Washington, along with medics from Ambulance & Chair.