Cambria County Coroner: One Dead in Hornerstown House Fire | News

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A Johnstown man was pronounced dead after firefighters battled a blaze at his home on Pine Street early Thursday.

An autopsy completed Thursday found that 32-year-old Alexander M. Perring died of thermal and smoke inhalation injuries sustained in the fire, Cambria County Coroner Jeffrey Lees said.

He was found in his bedroom, Lees said.

It was one of two house fires in Hornerstown overnight, but at this time there is no indication the incidents were related, Johnstown Fire Department Chief Bob Statler said.

The first call at 12:46 a.m. sent firefighters to a vacant apartment building on Horner Street, he said.

Statler said a serious fire broke out on the first floor, but crews were able to put it out soon after.

While crews were cleaning up at the scene, they were alerted to the second fire just before 2 a.m. in the 700 block of Pine Street – a little more than a block away, he said

The fire was reported by a family living on the other side of the rental property when they smelled smoke – and firefighters were alerted that a resident was believed to be trapped inside, Statler said.

Firefighters entered the locked apartment and were able to knock down the fire using handlines in an interior attack, Statler said.

Perring was found dead in a second-floor bedroom, Lees said.

The manner of his death remains under investigation, the coroner said.

Statler said the cause of the fire also remains undetermined at this time.

While a state police firefighter is assisting in the investigation, the fatal fire Thursday morning was not considered suspicious, he added.

The Horner Street fire was a different story, he said.

The first fire occurred in an unoccupied home where utilities, including electricity, had previously been shut off, Statler said.

A firefighter is also working with the Johnstown Fire Department and city detectives to determine where the fire started in the home and what caused it to ignite, he said.

Statler said it is too early to say when the investigation into both fires will be completed.

But at this point, “there is no indication that they are related,” he added.

David Hurst is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @TDDavidHurst.