MORGANTOWN — A firefighter was injured while fighting two structure fires at abandoned and condemned homes on Thursday night.
The Morgantown Fire Department was sent to a possible structure fire at the end of Falling Run Road about 10:25 p.m. When firefighters arrived, they found flames coming from the rear of 412 Falling Run Road, according to a press release.
The officer in charge called for a second alarm and later upgraded it to a third-alarm fire when the adjacent house, at 480 Falling Run Road, caught fire, the release said.
One firefighter was taken to the hospital with a foot or ankle injury and no civilians were injured, according to the release. Firefighters left the scene about 2:30 a.m. on Friday, the release said.
The cause of the fire is still being investigated. Anyone with information is asked to call the Morgantown Arson Hotline at 304-225-3586.Both homes were vacant and condemned by Morgantown Code Enforcement prior to the fire, according to the release.
It is not clear when the properties were condemned.
Mark Myers owns 412 and Alton G. Myers Sr. Estate owns 480, according to the Monongalia County Parcel Viewer. In 2002, 412 Falling Run Road was bought for $34,000 by an unlisted buyer and in 2019 the property was sold by Alton and Mark Myers to Mark for $0, according to the parcel viewer.
The house at 480 Falling Run Road was purchased for $25,000 in 1991 by an unlisted buyer. In 2019, the property was sold from Alton G. Myers to the Alton G. Myers Sr. Estate for $0.
The fire department estimated the damage to the two homes is about $150,000.
The other two properties on that side of the road are also abandoned and condemned. They are not owned by the owners of 412 or 480 Falling Run Road.
