Investigators suspect a methamphetamine lab operation caused a weekend fire that destroyed a Butler Township home and injured four people.
Official say the fire started before daybreak Saturday in the basement of a home on Germaine Road.
Four people were injured- including one man who suffered severe burns and was flown by medical helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital. The other three were treated at Butler Memorial.
After an investigation at the scene on Saturday, Butler Township Fire Marshal Larry Christy believes the fire was accidental but was caused by illicit activities.
“We found items that are consistent with the manufacture of meth,” Christy said Monday. The items were turned over to the State Police Crime Lab and investigators are awaiting results.
Christy says who all lived at that house- and who was there when the fire started- is still getting pieced together.
“Living arrangements are still a mystery to me,” he said.
The owner of the house may have been moving out. There was a partially-loaded trailer in the driveway.
No other houses were damaged and no firefighters were injured.
Germaine Road- which runs parallel to Calvary Cemetery and ends in a dead-end- is described as a quiet road to many. But, “these type of cooking operations can happen anywhere,” Christy said.
