Fire destroys home, vacant business in Harrison

A fire destroyed a home and an empty business along River Avenue in the Natrona section of Harrison on Saturday.

The blaze started at 21 River Ave. Homeowner Jeff Martinka said he was cooking home fries and went into his backyard to eat a meal. Then he turned around and saw flames in his home.

“I asked a neighbor to get a fire extinguisher, but it was too late,” said Martinka, 62, who has lived in the house his whole life. “It’s gone.”

Martinka escaped with his dog, Dakota. His cat, Larry, made it to the roof and ran away, he said.

There were no fatalities, said Jeff Balog, chief of Hilltop Hose Fire Company in Natrona Heights. Some first responders were being treated for minor injuries.

High winds that battered the area Saturday complicated fighting the fire, Balog said. Ultimately, about 15 crews were called to the site as a precaution in case the flames spread quickly, he said.

“We wanted to err on the side of caution,” Balog said.

The fire spread to an empty building next door, the former Silver Slipper bar, and nearly caught a third building, but crews were able to get it under control.

“Natrona is an old town with a lot of older buildings that are structure on structure — in close proximity — so there’s always a risk of spreading,” Balog said.

It took about two hours to get the blaze under control, he said.

Martinka said he grew up in the home with eight siblings.

“It was an old house, which didn’t help any,” he said.

A neighbor on River Avenue, Tim Negley, had tried to help with a fire extinguisher.

“I was in the park and saw the smoke,” Negley said. “I ran to our house to get the extinguisher, but it was too far gone.”

Some residents raised concerns about the neighborhood not having its own fire department, instead relying on nearby departments to respond.

Frances Sandarksi Brown said she saw the gray and black smoke from her Chestnut Avenue home.

“We have good coverage with ambulances,” Sandarksi Brown said. “What we need is a fire department.”

She said she plans to get a petition together to take to the township commissioners.

A fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire, which Balog said is routine.