Fire destroys Roxbury home; state police fire marshal investigating

Jan. 30--A Franklin Street home in Johnstown's Roxbury section was destroyed by fire early Wednesday and a state police marshal was working to determine the cause.

Johnstown Fire Department's assistant chief, Mick Miller, said there were no injuries in the fire, which was originally reported just before 10 p.m. Tuesday.

"The house is occupied, but the owner wasn't home at the time," Miller said.

State Police Fire Marshal Carl Richards said the residence had been undergoing recent renovations in the area where the fire occurred.

He said the blaze started in the front of the residence, inside an enclosed former front porch area that is now part of the home's living room.

Richards described the damage as a total loss, and an insurance agent was at the scene viewing the damage Wednesday.

Fire crews arrived to find flames flowing from the front of the home, enveloping the first-floor exterior.

Miller said the fire traveled fast, quickly climbing up the second-story walls facing Franklin Street.

Facing a fast-moving blaze on the front of the home, Johnstown, Richland, Westmont and Southmont fire departments were able to get the blaze under control within 30 minutes, he added.

City firefighters tapped into a hydrant directly in front of the home, whlle Richland Fire Department used its aerial tower truck to battle flames.

Because crews from all four stations were actively fighting the fire, Nanty Glo and Windber fire departments were called as "stand-by" units in the city.

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