Fire chief: New Kensington house destroyed by fire went up in flames twice before - TribLIVE

A New Kensington house that was destroyed by a fire early Saturday morning has caught on fire twice before in recent years, fire Chief Ed Saliba Jr. said.

“It was about three years ago … we had a small fire in the bedroom in the third floor,” Saliba said. “Then I believe there was a small fire in the porch about a year and a half ago.”

New Kensington police had been patrolling the neighborhood when they were alerted that the house located at 526 Constitution Blvd. was on fire. Firefighters were called to the scene shortly after 3:30 a.m. The house was engulfed in flames by the time they got there.

The people who live in the house weren’t home when the fire broke out, according to Saliba. Saliba identified the homeowner as Jamal Yemani, 66, and said Yemani had been living in the house with his son. Yemani declined to comment when reached by phone Sunday.

Saliba said he gave the Red Cross Yemani’s contact information so they could speak with him directly. Lisa Landis, a spokeswoman for the American Red Cross Greater PA said the Red Cross had not been dispatched to provide assistance to the address as of Sunday afternoon.

Mary Flenory, who lives next door, was asleep when the fire broke out. She woke to firefighters and police officers banging on her door at about 4 a.m.

“The firemen, they said when they got here, it was completely engulfed,” said Flenory, 88.

Flenory said, “It must have been burning a while. They let me know. They wanted me to leave here right away. I had to grab my (grandchild) and get up and get out of here.”

Flenory said Yemani lives in the house with his two sons and two dogs. The dogs were in the basement when the fire broke out, Flenory said.

“Nobody got hurt, not even the dogs. That was wonderful,” she said.

She said her neighbors are nice people who refer to her as Miss Mary.

“They’re … very friendly,” she said.

Saturday’s fire didn’t do any damage to Flenory’s home, for which she considers herself lucky.

“It’s awful,” Flenory said of Saturday’s fire. “Oh my god.”

Yemani spoke with the Tribune-Review when his attic caught on fire in March 2017. At the time, he said he’s lived in the house since 2002.

“I lost my clothes,” Yemani said.

Saliba at the time said that fire apparently was started by a short circuit in an electrical extension that was under clothing. Two New Kensington police officers were able to douse a majority of the flames with water-filled buckets by the time firefighters arrived.

Someone outside the house alerted Westmoreland County 911 and notified police and fire units.

No one was injured, but that fire caused at least $15,000 in damage.

“It’s fortunate that someone did make a call,” Saliba said at the time. “The people inside were able to get out.”

Two firefighters suffered minor injuries fighting Saturday’s fire, which rendered the house a total loss, Saliba said. Both firefighters were doing OK on Sunday, Saliba said.

“It’s got to be torn down like very fast,” Saliba said of the house. “The chimney’s leaning. The third floor’s into the first floor in the back right corner. It’s very unstable.”

Saliba said a fire marshal with the state police Greensburg barracks is investigating the cause of the most recent fire. A message left for the fire marshal wasn’t returned on Sunday.

Madasyn Lee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Madasyn at 724-226-4702, mlee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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