Cause of Bellefonte Avenue Fire Undetermined

By LaKeshia Knarr

LOCK HAVEN – Less than a week of after a fire broke out just before daybreak, state and local police continue to investigate the scene at 37 Bellefonte Ave. to determine how it began.

The cause of the fire will be listed as undetermined, according to Trooper Ken Riggle of the state police at Lamar, who served as fire marshal for the investigation.

Unsure of what started the fire in a building that did not have operating electrical power, Riggle said he believed the fire started in the back of the second floor.

The company that insures the property will evaluate the damage, he said, and adjust the value accordingly.

“City police will be following up to see if there is any criminal involvement with it,” Riggle said.

Detective Sergeant Kristin Smith of the Lock Haven City Police Department said the investigation is ongoing, but there is nothing new to report as of Wednesday morning.

City police will continue investigation, she said, as no known cause of the fire has been determined.

Local fire companies were called to the scene of a structure fire at 6:33 a.m. last Friday, Dec. 16, and battled the blaze in frigid temperatures until 1:40 p.m.

The fire started at 37 Bellefonte Ave., which was formerly a furniture shop and has not operated as a storefront in several years.

Robert Neff, fire chief for Lock Haven Fire Department, said he is listing the property as a total loss and believes it will likely be torn down.

“There was limited insurance on the building,” he said of the structure owned by local landlord Dave Mayes.

When asked if there is any suspicion of arson, Neff said, “We have no idea at this point. It’s under investigation.”

Due to the property’s proximity to other structures, adjacent buildings were also affected, Neff said.

Within the first hour of the fire, responders were dousing the adjacent buildings, including Covenant United Methodist Church at 44 W. Main St., which is behind property that caught fire.

“There was some minor fire damage and smoke damage to the church,” Neff said.

He also confirmed that the building directly next to the former furniture store – which houses state Rep. Mike Hanna’s local office, a salon and a barbershop – was also impacted by the fire. That property, owned by Don Houser, had to have its basement pumped before heat could be turned back on, Neff said.

“I think we’ve done a great job. We contained the fire to the building where it started and limited damage to the church and other part of the building. The guys did a great job,” Neff said of the firefighters on scene.

Aside from the Lock Haven Fire Department and the Clinton County Emergency Management Agency, the following Clinton County fire companies responded to the scene: Dunnstown, Mill Hall, Flemington, Castanea, Avis, Beech Creek, Lamar Township, Woolrich, Sugar Valley, Nittany Valley, Renovo (Emerald); as well as Millheim, Alpha and Bellefonte from Centre County; and Old Lycoming Township, Citizens, Independent, Montoursville and Loyalsock from Lycoming County.

The Salvation Army served food and drinks to first responders from its canteen truck.