Police Looking To Identify Person Near Deadly Westmoreland County Fire

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JEANNETTE (KDKA) -- Police have released new details and surveillance video following a deadly house fire in Jeannette last week.

A row house fire last week on South Seventh Street in the City of Jeannette claimed the life of 87-year old Shirley Kocherhans.

Her granddaughter - trapped on the second floor of one of the units - escaped the flames by jumping from a window. She and remains hospitalized in critical condition.

Today, State Police released surveillance video of an unidentified man walking near the row houses. Up until now, authorites have not been able to identify him.

State Trooper Stephen Limani told reporters today "we did have surveillance video that we saw an individual walking back and forth multiple times, and the person might have been a witness to how this fire could have started."

Limani added "as our investigation stands right now, we did have some pieces of the building sent to the crime lab for analysis, but, we still don't know if the fire was accidental or not."

The fast moving fire left about a dozen people homeless. None of the row houses had working smoke detectors.

Limani said "we're releasing the video now, as opposed to waiting a week. Anyone who has information on the man's identity is asked to call State Police in Greensburg at 724-832-3288."