Cause determined in one of Bradfords weekend fires

The cause of a weekend fire has been determined for a house damaged along East Main Street, while officials continue investigating another blaze on Belleview Avenue.

Assistant fire chief Rich Zmuda told The Era on Wednesday the fire at 194 East Main St. on Sunday has been attributed to an improperly installed heater.

The fire happened around 12:40 p.m. Crews made an offensive attack and entered the building, where they found resident James Bush on the back porch of the home, Lt. Greg Lewis of the Bradford City Fire Department said previously.

He informed us there was a heater in the basement, and when we went to enter the basement we found there to be approximately three feet of water on the basement floor, Lewis said. We were unable to access that way, but we were able to open up the first floor, locate the seat of the fire and isolate the fire that way.

Much of the fire damage occurred in the basement and a bedroom on the first floor. Damage had been estimated at roughly $5,000, according to Lewis.

The gas had been shut off from the home, displacing James Bush, Patricia Silsby and a minor, Caleb Leet. The American Red Cross was called into assist the residents. No one was injured in the fire.

Meanwhile, a two-story house that was destroyed on Saturday at 37 Belleview Ave. remains under investigation, according to Zmuda.

The fire was reported around 7 p.m. Saturday, about two hours after property owners Anthony Gryczkowski and Karen Oberst of Yorkshire, N.Y., had left the house, Ridgway-based state police fire marshal Greg Agosti previously told The Era. The duo recently bought the property and were in the process of remodeling the structure.

Agosti ruled out electrical problems as the cause. Damage has been estimated at $50,000.

On Saturday, firefighters arrived on scene to find the first floor heavily involved with thick smoke pouring from the second floor. The crew went in for a defensive attack. In battling the blaze, firefighters found themselves low on water. A fire hydrant nearest to the structure had little water, and there was no room on Belleview Avenue to set up a tanker truck to bring water in. Firefighters hooked up to a red hydrant and used hand lines and a deck gun to keep the fire under control.

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Cause determined in one of Bradfords weekend fires