Early-morning fire on South Side considered suspicious
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — An early-morning fire on the South Side is being called suspicious by Pittsburgh Public Safety.
Officials said the fire started around 3:50 a.m. on Wednesday at a building on East Carson Street between 19th and 20th streets.
Joseph Lazar lives next door and heard his smoke detector going off.
"Smoke was coming out, so I called 911. While I was on the phone, the window popped out onto the floor," Lazar said.
Firefighters were at the scene in about five minutes. The fire quickly went to four alarms because of how close the buildings are and other challenges.
"The floor was spongy. The stairs were burned away. The temperatures are very warm, and the guys are taking an extra 80 to 100 pounds of gear," Pittsburgh Fire Chief Darryl Jones said.
No one inside the building was injured. Neighboring buildings were damaged by the smoke and flames.
"You can tell that there were flames coming through. There's like a foot thick of stuff all over the floor. There's a lot of ruined stuff," Lazar said.
Neighbors living behind the building said they haven't seen anyone go in or out of the building.
According to records, RSP Pittsburgh, Inc. owns the building. Court records show the company was in bankruptcy court and its case was dismissed. KDKA-TV is still working to learn what it will do with this building.
The exact cause is still under investigation.