Altoona police and fire investigators are trying to find the cause of a blaze Monday morning that heavily-damaged a home owned by former Blair County Commissioner Donna Gority.
 
City firefighters were called to 1120 6^th Avenue around 10:30 AM and found heavy flames shooting from the second floor of the brick-clad structure. Crews had the flames knocked down in about an hour. Gority tells WRTA News she hasn’t lived in the house for several years and it was being used for storage. There were utilities connected to the property.
 
City police say it appears someone had broken into the house. Gority says the house will likely have to be torn down. A firefighter was taken to the hospital after suffering from heat exhaustion.