SUN-GAZETTE FILE PHOTO

The fire that sent Shaun McCollum to the hospital to be treated for burns and smoke inhalation after a blaze broke out in his garage at the back of his home at 1510 Catherine St. on March 11 has been ruled accidental, according to city Fire Chief Sam Aungst. Careless burning in a wood burner sparked the fire, August said. McCollum was in the garage at the time and ran out to alert his girlfriend to call 911, investigators said they were told, He was injured when he ran back into the burning building to get one of two vehicles out of the garage, the girlfriend told a Sun-Gazette reporter at the scene. Aungst estimated damage at about $40,000 bail.

A fire Saturday afternoon that caused minor damage to a porch at 815 Brandon Place in the city remains under investigation, Aungst said. Firefighters rushed to the scene about 1:15 p.m. after a neighbor heard what sounded to them like an explosion, investigators said. The fire, which did not extend into the home, was extinguished in a matter of minutes, Aungst said.

Another city fire – this one at 314 Locust St that displaced eight tenants on Jan. 9 – also remains under investigation, August said.

Concerning another investigation, Cpl. Nathan Birth, a state police fire marshal, has ruled that Saturday afternoon’s fire at 45 Broad St. in Hughesville was accidental, caused by a grill on the back deck. Five people have been displaced by the fire and were staying with friends. Among the many volunteer fire companies that assisted Hughesville was Muncy Area.

The cause of a blaze that extensively damaged a house at 6097 Pleasant Valley Road in Eldred Township on March 26, leaving another family of five homeless, remains under investigation.

Five months after a two-alarm blaze extensively damaged the Calvary Baptist Church at 42 Washington Boulevard in the city, much of the investigation – being handled by the state police Fire Marshal’s Office – remains shrouded in mystery. While the investigation is ongoing, investigators have not commented on the origin or cause of the fire, which broke out about 8:10 p.m. on Oct. 23 and resulted in at least $100,000 damage.

Since the fire, the church’s congregation has been holding worship services at Central Baptist Church at Seventh and Memorial avenues in the city. “Central Baptist’s support has been phenomenal,” The Rev. Howard Woodruff, pastor of Calvary Baptist, said Tuesday afternoon.

He hopes his congregation will be back worshiping on Washington Boulevard by next month in the church’s Education Building, which is connected to the sanctuary, but was not damaged by the fire.