By Bob Stiles
The Tribune-Review
MONESSEN, Pa. — Four unoccupied homes were deliberately set on fire Friday night and Saturday morning in Monessen, with three firefighters hurt while battling the blazes, the city’s fire chief said.
“I hope they quit before they injure more of my firefighters,” Chris Rhome said.
He was convinced the fires were set because of what he saw at the scene.
“There were no utilities to them, and we have evidence of pour patterns where an accelerant had been used,” Rhome said.
The first fire began shortly before midnight Saturday on 10th Street. Fires followed in the 1200 block of Knox Avenue and two homes in the 600 block of Ninth Street. Someone returned to the home on Knox Avenue and reset the fire, Rhome said.
A fire Dec. 29 on Knox Avenue was ruled as arson by a state police fire marshal, with a liquid accelerant used to spark the blaze, Rhome said.
One firefighter suffered a severe ankle sprain, another a possible tailbone injury and a third suffered a back injury after falling 6 feet from a porch, Rhome said. One of the firefighters remains in the hospital.
Rhome said he plans to meet with a state police fire marshal Monday and hopes police can use surveillance footage to determine who set the fires.
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