MOUNT CARMEL - The property owners of two vacant homes damaged in a fire late Monday night in the 400 block of East Third Street caused by a bottle rocket have been identified by Mount Carmel Fire Chief Jack Williams Jr.
Joseph and Margaret Wargo of Mount Carmel are the owners of 433 E. Third St., where the fire started when a bottle rocket flew through a screen door on the second floor shortly before midnight. The second and third floors of the property were destroyed.
Williams said he doesn't know if the vacant house is insured.
An adjacent property at 431 E. Third St. that sustained fire damage to the third floor and smoke and water damage to the bottom two floors is owned by Apartments and Acquisitions LC of Allentown, and is covered by insurance, Williams said. The structure was undergoing renovations at the time of the fire.
The fire, which caused between $80,000 and $100,000 damage, has been ruled accidental, but a criminal investigation has been launched regarding the incident.
The properties are located between Plum and Locust streets.