PITTSBURGH -- Smoke and flames cleared at a vacant home in Pittsburgh's Troy Hill neighborhood, revealing a World War II-era explosive. By the next day, police arrested two juveniles.
Firefighters were called to the two-alarm fire and discovered the aerial bomb -- which was not active -- inside a house in the 1400 block of Gardner Street shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday.
"I come out and there was just flames shooting out everywhere. I was, like, stunned," witness Heather Ernst said.
Early Wednesday, unidentified police sources told Channel 4 Action News that police were investigating a pair of 12-year-olds as suspects. By the evening, arson investigators told WTAE Channel 4 Action News that officers arrested two juveniles, but did not specify their ages.
Mike Boyd, of the North Side, said people regularly go in and out of the abandoned house, "but you don't know if people are living in there, sleeping in there. To me, it's a party house."
"It's been abandoned for a couple of years now. No one lives there," Ernst said. "As you can see, there is furniture in there. There's pictures on the walls. I don't know if people left it when they moved out."
No one was hurt in the fire, which remains under investigation.
"It poses a threat for the simple fact there was a ballgame going on right here, which is directly across the street," Ernst said. "There was cars parked here. A lot of kids play around here. It's very family oriented up here in this community."
On Wednesday, young volunteers from all over the U.S. were working on houses in the neighborhood where the fire happened.
The kids from SHINE Catholic Work Camp, based in Tomball, Texas, were painting and doing other jobs that residents needed at 26 local homes.
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