PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Arson investigators are searching for the cause of a suspicious fire in the East Hills this morning in which one witness told police she saw someone throw something inside the building shortly before the blaze began.

The fire started just after 6 a.m. in the 8000-block of Frankstown Avenue.

Kenny Carol who lives in an adjacent apartment says he got a rude awakening. “A friend of mine was riding by and he banged on my window and told me to get out ‘cause there was a fire. I thought he was playing… I just grabbed what I could grab.. and I got the heck out of there.”

Although Pittsburgh firefighters arrived within minutes, the structure was already fully engulfed in flames.

“The front, the side and the back, there was fire showing,” Pittsburgh Fire Battalion Chief Tim Kopicko explained. “A portion of the roof area right over the front did collapse.”

The fire is believed to have started in a building located at 8004 Frankstown Avenue, which houses apartments and the Sin City Disciples motorcycle club.

“I don’t know for sure, but they said somebody must have threw a cocktail in the window — a second floor window,” club member “Skip” told KDKA-TV’s Ross Guidotti.

In fact, Pittsburgh police questioned a woman who told them that she saw a man throw something into the building seconds before it went up in flames.

While police continue to talk to the woman about what she may have seen, investigators are still working to determine an exact cause of the fire, which they say can be considered suspicious.

RELATED LINKS:
More Local News
Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire
Pittsburgh Fire Bureau Contacts