Historic Bells Mills Covered Bridge saved from fire in Westmoreland County

A call to the fire department likely saved the historic Bells Mills Covered Bridge, which connects South Huntingdon and Sewickley townships.

Bill Dull, chief of Hutchinson Volunteer Fire Department, said the company was dispatched at about 7 a.m. to investigate reported smoke near the wooden bridge built in 1850 across Sewickley Creek.

Dull said they didn’t expect to find much because motorists like to “burn rubber” inside of the bridge and the department has received similar calls in the past.

“There was a slight haze of smoke inside the bridge and what seemed to be a softball-sized hole in the bridge decking,” Dull said. “There weren’t any flames, just hot embers.”

He said the bridge would have likely burned if someone hadn’t called about the smoke.

“It would’ve been bad,” Dull said. “It was probably burning for a few hours before we were dispatched.”

Dull believes a discarded cigarette may have sparked the smoldering.

“The bridge is old and the wood is so dry,” Dull said. “I believe the fire started in between the decking boards. Basically, anything could start a fire in there.”

Bells Mills Road is closed except to local traffic until repairs are complete.

Westmoreland County Public Works engineer Vaughn Neill evaluated the damage Friday to decide the best course of action.

“We’re going to close (the bridge) for the weekend until we can look at it and make sure we know the best way to do the repair,” Neill said. “It’s mostly a shortcut and can’t be used in emergencies,” so traffic patterns won’t really be affected.

Mark Petrof, chairman of the Sewickley Township supervisors, said he doesn’t “want to take any chances” by allowing traffic across the bridge until it is repaired.

“Everyone is saddened by this in the township,” Petrof said. “There’s not too many covered bridges anymore.”

The bridge was last repaired in 2019, after a few pieces of wooden railing were ripped off supports and an end post that holds up the roof was hit by a vehicle.

Petrof said every time he passes the bridge, there’s always someone there taking pictures for a special occasion.

“It’s a piece of history, and we want to keep it that way,” Petrof said.