The Allegheny County Fire Marshal has been called in to investigate the cause of a fire which gutted a Ross Townwship apartment Friday morning.

The fire broke out on the first floor of 1 Jarvis Court shortly before 10 a.m. Firefighters extinguished it in about ten minutes.

"We have pinpointed the origin, somewhere near or under the love seat," said Ross Fire Marshal John Reubi. "But we haven't determined the cause, it's possible this has been smoldering for quite a while, and it nearly put itself out for lack of oxygen."

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A neighbor noticed the smoke and called 911. The tenant was out of town.

"We understand she is in Georgia right now," said Reubi. "We don't know when she left and how long the apartment had been empty.

No one was hurt.

Check back with North Hills Patch for further developments.

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