Fire Crews: Squatter Starts Fire In Beaver Falls, Leaving Family Of Four Homeless
BEAVER FALLS (KDKA) -- A Beaver County family is out of a home after an alleged squatter caused a vacant building to go up in flames, spreading to a neighboring house.
That squatter is accused of running away before fire crews arrived at the scene.
"You can't be doing this you're going to burn the house down," neighbor Craig Neneth said.
Neneth ran into the accused squatter Friday and saw him lighting fires inside the vacant red building on the floor and warned him to stop.
"Right next to the hardwood floor exposed and waiting to smolder," Neneth said.
The man told Neneth he was trying to keep out the bugs.
Then around 8 Saturday morning fire crews were called to the 800 block of 6th street in Beaver Falls.
"Looked over and saw a ton of flames shooting out of that top window," Neneth said describing the fire.
The flames quickly spread to the neighboring house about two feet away.
A family of two adults and two kids was able to make it out okay. They had fire damage to the attic and water damage to other floors.
"We put a line on those exposures to protect other houses and to keep the fire from spreading," Beaver Falls Fire Chief Mark Stowe said.
Chief Stowe said the building had vacant for a few years.
"Anytime you're fighting a fire in an abandoned building There are always challenges. You don't know the unknown," he said.
Neneth said the squatter took off before the crews arrived. He feels bad for not calling police yesterday.
"I feel responsible. I should have called the authorities yesterday," he said. "A missed opportunity to save somebody's home. I feel bad."
Chris Chief Stowe said they will be working with the Beaver Falls Police Department to see if charges will be filed.
