Fire causes extensive damage to Cecil Township pretzel plant
A fire at Pretzels Inc. in Cecil Township started about 6 a.m. Saturday morning.
Pretzel Inc. CEO Scott Smith said all 20 employees were able to safely escape a fire that broke out about 6 a.m. Saturday. The plant is located on Swihart Road in Cecil Township.
Thirteen fire crews were called to assist a fire at Pretzels Inc. in Cecil Township. Three departments were still on scene after 3 p.m. Saturday battling “hot spots.”
CANONSBURG – Plant workers were in the midst of a shift change when a fire broke out at Pretzels Inc., 42 Swihart Road, just after 6 a.m. Saturday.
The approximately 20 employees were able to evacuate.
“There’s a lot of smoke and damage,” said CEO Scott Smith, who drove to the site from his Ohio home after he received news of the fire. “We’re thankful everybody got out and nobody was injured.”
According to Paul Smith, safety officer of Muse Volunteer Fire Department, Cecil Township No. 2, 13 fire companies were called to assist at the fire, which smoldered through the afternoon.
“They’re dealing with hot spots,” Paul Smith said. “We were able to save the warehouse part of the structure.”
A state fire marshal was on scene to investigate the cause.
Scott Smith said about 30 employees work at the Cecil Township plant, where a single-oven operation makes pretzels. The company has been operating from that location since 2011.
“It’s going to be completely destroyed. We’ll have to assess, work with insurance and figure out how quickly we can be back up in operation,” he said. “We’ll have a good plan for the people who work here.”
The Cecil Township plant of Pretzels Inc., with headquarters in Bluffton, Ind., makes peanut butter pretzels.
”(It’s) the only site that made that – certainly an important part of our business,” Scott Smith said. “We’ll get a plan to get in back in production as soon as we can. I just, first and foremost, am thankful everyone is OK and the rest we’ll work on.”
A Washington County 911 supervisor said crews left the scene about 5:30 p.m.