Crews battle late-night fire in North Versailles, Allegheny County
NOW ON PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR. THE MAN ACCUSED OF TRYING TO TEAR DOWN PART OF HIS FAMILY’S HOME WHILE HIS FAMILY WAS ALLEGEDLY STILL INSIDE, APPEARED BEFORE A JUDGE TODAY. THE LATEST FROM INSIDE THE COURTROOM TONIGHT, WHERE I’M STANDING, WAS A BARN THAT STOOD FOR OVER 200 YEARS. AFTER THIS WEEKEND, IT’S NOW SPREAD ACROSS THE PROPERTY IN WEST BATH TOWNSHIP. WE TAKE YOU TO IT AND HOW THE OWNER IS RECOVERING TONIGHT. THE ALLEGHENY COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT REITERATING THEIR ABCS OF SLEEP SAFE PRACTICES. TONIGHT, WE’LL BREAK DOWN WHAT THOSE ABCS ARE. THE ALARMING TREND WE ARE SEEING. PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR AT SEVEN STARTS NOW WITH BREAKING NEWS. OUR NEWSROOM WITHIN THE PAST HOUR CHARGES FOR EIGHT MEN IN CONNECTION WITH THE KILLING OF A MAN IN THE ALLEGHENY COUNTY JAIL BACK ON MAY 14TH. THAT’S WHEN 44 YEAR OLD TYRONE GOOD WAS ASSAULTED IN HIS CELL. HE DIED IN THE HOSPITAL. POLICE SAY SURVEILLANCE VIDEO AND OTHER EVIDENCE HELPED THEM IDENTIFY THOSE INVOLVED. REPORTER JORDAN CIOPPA WILL HAVE A FULL REPORT ON THIS STORY COMING UP ON PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR AT 11. FOLLOWING GAME FOUR OF THE STANLEY CUP FINAL. WE TURN NOW TO PITTSBURGH’S ACTION WEATHER. LET’S TAKE A LIVE LOOK OVER DOWNTOWN PITTSBURGH FROM OUR ACTION CAM. THINGS ARE GOING TO BE CHANGING HERE BECAUSE TOMORROW STARTS A STRING OF THREE CONSECUTIVE IMPACT DAYS, HEAT AND THREATS OF STORMS MOVING IN. WE THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US HERE ON COZI TV. I’M RYAN RECKER CHIEF METEOROLOGIST MIKE HARVEY HERE AS WELL. AND MIKE, YOU’RE HERE TO TIME OUT ALL OF THAT ACTIVITY HEADED OUR WAY. YEAH. WE WILL HAVE THOSE THREE IMPACT DAYS IN A ROW WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. BUT WE HAVE A FEW SHOWERS THAT ARE ALREADY MAKING THEIR WAY TOWARDS US AND ARE MOVING FROM THE SOUTH TO THE NORTH. NOW YOU’LL NOTICE THE STORMS THAT ARE HEADING TOWARDS THE SHOWERS THAT ARE HEADING TOWARDS PITTSBURGH. THEY ARE DYING DOWN, SO THEY’RE GOING TO MAKE IT PROBABLY UP TO ABOUT ALLEGHENY COUNTY BEFORE THEY RUN OUT OF STEAM HERE. AND WE HAVE ANOTHER CELL OUT HERE TOWARDS MORGANTOWN. IT’S MOVING OUT TOWARDS THE DEEP CREEK AREA AND WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH OUT. SO THAT CELL JUST WENT THROUGH FARMINGTON, OHIOPYLE, AND IS MOVING OFF TOWARDS SOMERSET AND ALSO DOWN TOWARDS THE DEEP CREEK. YOU HAVE A BRIEF HIT OF SOME HEAVY RAIN AND THIS SECTION OF RAIN JUST GETTING READY TO MOVE INTO WASHINGTON WILL EVENTUALLY MAKE IT TO BETHEL PARK AND PITTSBURGH. BUT AGAIN, THAT ONE IS DYING DOWN AND WEAKENING. AS WE TAKE A LOOK AT TOMORROW, WE WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF POP UP SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVERNIGHT. AND TOMORROW YOU CAN SEE THEY’LL BE PRETTY SPREAD OUT AS WE GO THROUGH THE DAY. BUT ANY ONE OF THESE WILL HAVE HEAVY RAIN WITH IT. A POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORM AS WELL. TEMPERATURE WISE WE’RE GOING FOR HIGHS THAT WILL BE IN THE MID 80S FOR TOMORROW. IN PITTSBURGH, A HIGH OF 85 DEGREES. AND THEN SOME LOCATIONS HITTING 90 ON THURSDAY. WITH THE HUMIDITY, IT WILL FEEL LIKE THE MID 90S AND WE’LL HAVE A CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS, ESPECIALLY ON THURSDAY AS WELL AS FRIDAY. WE DO DRY IT OUT TO START THE WEEKEND. ON SATURDAY WE’LL HAVE MORE ON THE IMPACT DAYS AND YOUR WEEKEND FORECAST. THAT’S COMING UP IN JUST A FEW MINUTES. MEANWHILE, THE CLEANUP PROCESS IS ONGOING IN SEVERAL COMMUNITIES. IN THE AFTERMATH OF SIX TORNADOES HITTING SOUTH OF PITTSBURGH ON SATURDAY, THREE IN WASHINGTON COUNTY, TWO IN FAYETTE COUNTY AND ONE IN WESTMORELAND COUNTY. IN WASHINGTON COUNTY. A BARN OVER TWO CENTURIES OLD WAS DESTROYED ON A FAMILY FARM. REPORTER ED DIORIO IS IN WEST BETHLEHEM TOWNSHIP WITH THAT STORY. JOHN SERGEANT HAS OWNED AND OPERATED THIS FARM IN WASHINGTON COUNTY FOR MORE THAN 80 YEARS, AND HIS FAMILY HAS OWNED IT FOR MORE THAN TWO CENTURIES. BUT WITH THIS WEEKEND’S SEVERE WEATHER, HE SAID THAT HE DIDN’T KNOW WHAT’S BEHIND ME WAS POSSIBLE. THE WIND WAS EXTREME, AND THE DAMAGE THAT WE HAVE HAD WINDSTORMS BEFORE NEVER ANYTHING LIKE THIS. JOHN SERGEANT WASN’T ON HIS FAMILY’S FARM WHEN A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEARBY SATURDAY AFTERNOON. I STARTED COMING HOME AND THEN MY NEIGHBOR CALLED AND SAID, HEY, YOUR BARN’S GONE. HE DIDN’T BELIEVE HIS NEIGHBOR THEN AND STILL DOESN’T BELIEVE WHAT’S LEFT OF SERGEANT SILVER SPRINGS FARMS. DAYS LATER, IT WAS OBVIOUSLY SHOCKED THAT MAYBE MORE AMAZED THAN SHOCKED PIECES OF HIS FAMILY’S 215 YEAR OLD BARN LEFT SCATTERED ACROSS THE HILLS. JOHN HAS BEEN CLEANING IT UP EVER SINCE. WE’VE BEEN WORKING, PICKING UP DEBRIS, WHICH IS A TREMENDOUS JOB, BUT WE’VE GOT TO START SOMEWHERE, SO WE’RE JUST TRYING TO CLEAN THE MESS UP. AND THE ONLY HELP HE’S RECEIVED IS FROM THE NEIGHBOR WHO CALLED HIM IN THE FIRST PLACE. RANDY, IT WAS A GOOD, GOOD PERSON, GOOD NEIGHBOR. HE’S BEEN A NEIGHBOR FOR YEARS. HE’S A GOOD GUY, AND HE’S HELPED ME OUT. AND I APPRECIATE THAT. SERGEANT CAN’T DO MUCH ELSE AS HIS HOME IS ONE OF MANY IN THE AREA STILL WITHOUT POWER. MULTIPLE POWER LINES FELL RIGHT BESIDE HIS HOME. I KNOW THEY’RE REALLY BUSY AND THEY GOT A TON OF BUCKET TRUCKS RUNNING AROUND, AND THEY CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH WITH NEARLY EVERYTHING GOING WRONG. SERGEANT IS CHOOSING TO SEE WHAT’S STILL RIGHT. NOBODY GOT KILLED. NOBODY GOT HURT. I COULD HAVE BEEN HERE AND GOT KILLED, FOR THAT MATTER. I’M UPSET ABOUT IT. EXTREMELY UPSET, BUT NOTHING CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT. SO I GOT TO MAKE THE BEST OF IT AND JUST. I’M A SURVIVOR. I’LL MAKE IT. ALONG WITH SERGEANT STRUGGLES AND STILL BEING WITHOUT POWER, THERE ARE STILL MANY IN THIS PART OF WEST BETHLEHEM TOWNSHIP WHO ARE IN THE SAME SITUATION AND WAITING FOR THE LIGHTS TO COME BACK ON. COVERING WASHINGTON COUNTY IN WEST BETHLEHEM TOWNSHIP, ED DIORIO, PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR. A THREE DECADE OLD MYSTERY HAS BEEN SOLVED. REMAINS DISCOVERED IN A HOME IN WILKINSBURG IN 1999 HAVE JUST BEEN IDENTIFIED AS THOSE OF A MISSING TEENAGER, 18 YEAR OLD JANELLE BRADFORD WAS REPORTED MISSING IN APRIL OF 1999. THE NEXT MONTH, HUMAN REMAINS WERE DISCOVERED IN A HOME ON NORTH AVENUE, BUT THE IDENTITY OF THOSE REMAINS THEY WERE NOT CONFIRMED UNTIL RECENTLY. INVESTIGATORS WERE ABLE TO BUILD A COMPREHENSIVE DNA PROFILE AND IDENTIFY A POTENTIAL FAMILY MEMBER. THAT RELATIVE HELPED CONFIRM THAT THE WOMAN FOUND DEAD WAS JANELLE BRADFORD. AUTHORITIES SAY THEY HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO IDENTIFY A SUSPECT IN HER DEATH. A LOCAL SHELTER PULLED MORE THAN A DOZEN ANIMALS FROM A DEPLORABLE HOME WITH NO ACCESS TO FOOD OR WATER. AND NOW A WOMAN IS CHARGED WITH AGGRAVATED CRUELTY. IN APRIL, A LANDLORD DISCOVERED A DEAD KITTEN INSIDE OF THE HOME OF DANIELLE HOWARD, NEW KENSINGTON POLICE AND THE ANIMAL RESCUE TEAM RESPONDED AND THEN SPOTTED FLOORS AND FURNITURE SOAKED WITH URINE AND FECES AND TRASH SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE HOUSE. IN ADDITION, SEVEN CATS, FOUR LIVE KITTENS, ONE DOG AND A BEARDED DRAGON WERE TAKEN FOR EMERGENCY VET CARE. ONLY ONE OF THE KITTENS SURVIVED, AND THE BEARDED DRAGON ALSO DIED. A MAN ACCUSED OF TRYING TO DESTROY HIS HOME WITH AN EXCAVATOR WHILE HIS FAMILY WAS INSIDE APPEARED TODAY IN A BUTLER COUNTY COURTROOM. REPORTER KALEA GUNDERSON HAS THE LATEST FROM SAXONBURG. THE BUTLER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE DOWNGRADING THE MOST SERIOUS CHARGE OF CAUSING CATASTROPHE, A SECOND DEGREE FELONY DOWN TO RISKING CATASTROPHE, A THIRD DEGREE FELONY. ALL OTHER CHARGES HELD FOR COURT. BUT THE ATTORNEY REPRESENTING ERIC. MICHAEL PARK, SEEMINGLY RELIEVED THAT MORE CHARGES WEREN’T ADDED. THEY COULD HAVE CHARGED HIM WITH POTENTIALLY OTHER CRIMINAL OFFENSES, AND THEY AGREED NOT TO DO THAT. YOU KNOW, MY CLIENT WANTS TO MOVE ON. HE WANTS TO GET THIS RESOLVED IN THE COURTS EVENTUALLY AND AND POSSIBLY REUNITE WITH HIS KIDS. 48 YEAR OLD ERIC LEFT COURT TODAY QUICKLY AND QUIETLY. YOU KNOW, MY CLIENT WANTS TO MOVE ON. HE WANTS TO GET THIS RESOLVED IN THE COURTS EVENTUALLY AND AND POSSIBLY REUNITE WITH HIS KIDS. HERSHEY IS ACCUSED OF RISKING CATASTROPHE WHEN HE ALLEGEDLY TOOK A BACKHOE TO PART OF HIS HOUSE, ACCORDING TO THE CRIMINAL COMPLAINT, WAS HIS WIFE, WHO HE IS IN THE MIDDLE OF A SEPARATION FROM. CALL 900 112 WEEKS AGO, SAYING THAT HER HUSBAND HAD BECOME ANGRY AFTER SHE TOLD HIM THEIR MARRIAGE WAS OVER, THE COMPLAINT ALLEGES. HE RESPONDED, QUOTE, IF IT’S OVER, I’LL TEAR THE HOUSE DOWN. MOMENTS LATER, HE ALLEGEDLY POWERED UP HIS EXCAVATOR AND BEGAN TEARING UP THE BACK SIDE OF THE HOUSE. HIS ATTORNEY, MICHAEL PARK, SUMMING IT UP LIKE THIS. HE BUILT THE HOUSE HIMSELF. YOU KNOW THE MARRIAGE IS OVER AND HE TOOK THE BACKHOE TO THE. HE’S ALLEGED THAT HE TOOK THE BACKHOE TO THE TO THE BACK PORCH AND DIDN’T CAUSE ANY OTHER STRUCTURAL DAMAGE. THE COMPLAINT SAYS PURSE WAS WIFE AND TWO DAUGHTERS WERE IN THE HOME AS. THIS ALL HAPPENED. WHEN I ASKED PARK ABOUT THAT ALLEGED DETAIL, HE SAID THIS. MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THEY SAY THEY WERE. THEY CERTAINLY COULD HAVE WALKED OUT THE FRONT DOOR AT ANY TIME AND WILL BE FORMALLY ARRAIGNED IN LATE JULY.
Crews battle late-night fire in North Versailles, Allegheny County
Updated: 10:49 PM EDT Jun 9, 2026
Firefighters were on the scene late Tuesday night after flames broke out inside a home in North Versailles, Allegheny County. VIDEO: Top stories on Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 was on the scene in the 2600 block of Girard Avenue just before 11 p.m., where crews could be seen battling heavy flames and smoke. Dispatchers confirmed that no injuries were reported. This is a developing story. Download the WTAE app to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news in your inbox.
NORTH VERSAILLES TOWNSHIP, Pa. —
Firefighters were on the scene late Tuesday night after flames broke out inside a home in North Versailles, Allegheny County.
VIDEO: Top stories on Pittsburgh’s Action News 4
Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 was on the scene in the 2600 block of Girard Avenue just before 11 p.m., where crews could be seen battling heavy flames and smoke.
Dispatchers confirmed that no injuries were reported.
This is a developing story.
Download the WTAE app to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news in your inbox.