Cause sought in Shadyside fire
Damage estimated at $250,000 in blaze at vacant house
Pittsburgh firefighters brought under control a three-alarm blaze that caused an estimated $250,000 in damage Thursday to an unoccupied, 105-year-old house in Shadyside.
The fire was reported about 6 p.m. at 623 Devonshire St., four houses south of Ellsworth Avenue. Flames had been visible on the roof of the house, and heavy smoke enveloped the neighborhood near the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University campuses.
No injuries were reported and streets in the neighborhood were reopened to traffic as responders finished their work after 8 p.m.
Firefighters were successful in keeping the flames contained to 623 Devonshire. The neighborhood includes the residence of Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher.
The owner of record on the burned structure is Ellen C. Still Brooks, who also has an address in Sewickley. She could not be reached for comment.
Allegheny County real estate records show she bought the house in November 2011 for $560,000. The nearly 4,000-squarefoot structure has four bedrooms and was built in 1910, the records show.
Public safety spokeswoman Sonya Toler said the interior of the home had been undergoing renovations. Michael Mullen, deputy chief of the city fire bureau, estimated damage at $250,000.
Ms. Toler said it was too early to say where the fire originated.
“Our firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke with flames throughout the structure,” she said.
Dan Gilman, the city council member who represents the area, was at the scene and said he knew of neighbors’ ongoing complaints about the condition of the house. A neighbor, Tony Moore, who lives at 704 Devonshire, said the house had been vacant for at least four years. He said he and other neighbors had been urging the owner to make repairs.
“I think most of the neighbors here reported her to the housing authority to make renovations because it was an unsafe house,” Mr. Moore said.