Weekend blaze at vacant cabin called suspicious
JACKSON TWP — The state police fire marshal’s office and township police are investigating a suspicious weekend fire that damaged a vacant cabin near the Seneca Valley High School.
No one was injured in the blaze shortly after midnight Sunday on Harts Road.
A neighbor reported seeing fire coming from the single-story wood structure and called 911. Volunteers firefighters from the Harmony Fire District, Evans City and Connoquenessing were able to save the building.
Trooper DuWayne Baird, a deputy fire marshal, said it appeared the fire started in the front of the cabin, primarily in the area of a bedroom and dining room.
There was no sign that anyone broke into the cabin and investigators did not immediately know if any utilities were still connected there.
The Beaver Falls Fire Department’s accelerant-sniffing dog later arrived on scene and “hit” on several samples in the house, Baird said.
Investigators collected the evidence which is being analyzed.
The cabin, owned by Bridget Jubek, who lives in the Pittsburgh area, was minimally furnished and sustained about $10,000 in damage, Baird said.
Jackson Township police could not be reached for comment this morning.
Anyone who may have seen anything suspicious at or around the cabin before the fire is asked to call state police at 724-284-8100, township police at 724-452-5600, or 911.