Cops and Courts

MFD responds to house fire Friday morning

The Morgantown Fire Department responded to a house fire on Monongalia Avenue, next to Town Hill, on Friday morning.

No one was home at the time of the fire, which started in and was contained to the kitchen, Captain Gary Freshour said.

The home is rented by a family with three young boys, according to the home’s owner and next door neighbor, Sharon Zeni. She said the family was in Pittsburgh and did not own pets.

Zeni said she was getting dressed when a fireman knocked on her door to let her know about the fire next door. She then called her tenants, found out they were in Pittsburgh and informed them of the fire.

“She screamed ‘the house in on fire’ and hung up,” Zeni said.

The call was received at 8:35 a.m., Chief Mark Caravasos said. When The Dominion Post arrived on scene about 8:50 a.m., the fire was extinguished and fans were being set up to ventilate the house. At 9:20 a.m. the MFD was cleaning up its equipment and preparing to leave.

Zeni said she’s owned the house for 25 years and its current occupants moved in in November.

The fire will be investigated by Morgantown’s fire marshals.