Fire causes damage at New Bethlehem building

An overheated appliance caught fire to a stack of combustible materials in a New Bethlehem Borough apartment Friday afternoon.

The New Bethlehem Fire Company was dispatched to a structure fire on Broad Street at approximately 2:30 p.m. Friday.

Upon arrival, they discovered the fire in an apartment adjoined to Diddy’s Bar.

Charles Theodore Powell, the owner of the building had used a fire extinguisher before firefighters arrived but they had to extinguish the remainder of it, which had spread to the exterior of the building.

A fire marshal determined that a small appliance had overheated and caught fire to the baseboard and paneled wall.

The fire was deemed accidental in nature and damages were estimated at approximately $20,000 according to Clarion state police.