Investigators have concluded that the massive fire that hit the main commercial corridor of Homestead early Friday morning was set intentionally, according to Alvin Henderson, chief of the Allegheny County department of emergency services.
Flames began in the living room in an apartment above Concept Uniform at 237 East Eighth Ave., spread throughout the building and moved onto others. Damages are estimated to exceed $2 million, chief Henderson stated in a news release.
Crews have removed debris from the five Eighth Avenue buildings that burned, and the roadway has reopened to traffic, authorities said.
The blaze destroyed three buildings and damaged two others; nine people who lived in apartments above businesses in the stretch were displaced, and the Red Cross said it is assisting eight of them with shelter and other necessities.
Edward McDonald, 27, who had an apartment above Concept Uniform, was charged with setting the fire. He is in the Allegheny County Jail — charged with more than 10 counts of arson and risking a catastrophe — unable to post $100,000 bond.
Mr. McDonald told investigators on Friday that he was hearing voices and was depressed at the time of the blaze, which he referred to as “what I’ve done” in a criminal complaint. He told agents that he found lighter fluid in an alley beside his apartment building, squirted the fluid onto his living room couch, and the next thing he remembered was seeing “a lake of fire.”
A Homestead organization, ANEW Community Institute, announced plans for a Jan. 31 fundraiser to help those affected by the fire from 7 until 11 p.m. at the Stay Tuned Distillery, 810 Ravine St. in Munhall. Tickets are $25, available at the door or via its Facebook event listing.
“Homestead is our home and our community and ANEW is in the business of building community and coalitions of community,” ANEW president Maryellen Deckard said in a news release.
Madasyn Czebiniak: mczebiniak@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1269. Twitter: @PG_Czebiniak.
First Published: January 25, 2015, 1:40 a.m.