MERCERSBURG, Pa. - State Police investigators confirmed Tuesday the fire that destroyed a historic building in Center Square Friday began inside the second-floor apartment of a man who jumped from a side window of the burning building.
Investigators also confirmed the resident, William Hamilton, suffered carbon monoxide inhalation, burns to his hands and a broken leg from the blaze and his ensuing leap.
The fire, which gutted the inside of the 16-apartment building and destroyed much of its roof, erupted at approximately 6:10 a.m. Friday at the Carriage House Hotel, 5 S. Main St. Police said a cigarette ash from an ashtray left in the area of a love seat was the cause of the fire, which caused approximately $500,000 in damages.
During the blaze, two firefighters rescued a woman from the window of her apartment, which was nearly completely engulfed by flames, atop a ladder.
