Deadly Farrell fire ruled accidental

staff report

FARRELL, Pa. — The state police fire marshal’s office has ruled a house fire that killed two men Friday evening accidental.

The marshal’s office, which investigated the blaze, was at the fire scene Friday evening and Saturday, said Fire Chief Joseph Santell.

Firefighters found Jack Shaver, 52, and his brother, Robert, 49, dead in their home, 634 Lee Ave., which was destroyed by the 9 p.m. blaze. The men died of smoke inhalation, Santell said.

The dead men’s mother, Bessie Shaver, 74, who also lived there, is in good condition at UPMC Horizon Hospital, where she was being treated for smoke inhalation after she escaped from a first-floor bedroom.

She told police she was awakened, heard someone holler, smelled smoke, yelled for her sons and fled.

“It was completely heavy, black smoke in the house,” where the blaze erupted in the kitchen at the rear of the two-story wooden structure, Santell said. “She took in a lot of smoke.”

The single-family house was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived within two minutes after the first 911 call, Santell said. The exact cause of the blaze is still undetermined, Santell said.

Sharon firefighters assisted Farrell firefighters at the scene.