Building demolished to put out early morning fire in Rostraver
A contractor had to bring in heavy equipment to tear down a building where a fire broke out early Friday morning in Rostraver Township.
Justin Shawley, assistant chief of Rostraver Central Fire Department, said members of the department spent about six hours on the Tyrol Boulevard site where Equipment Connections and Party Rentals is located.
Shawley said the building that caught fire was an unoccupied former house on the company’s property that it was using to store items such as tents and folding chairs. Firefighters were called there a little before 3 a.m.
“The building was ultimately demolished as part of the extinguishment of the fire,” Shawley said “That accounts for some of the extended on-scene time.”
The business was closed when the fire started, and no one was injured. Shawley said there wasn’t any danger of the fire spreading to other buildings in the area.
Shawley said the equipment inside the structure was packed too densely for firefighters to enter the building. For example, one room was full of stacks of folding chairs from floor to ceiling.
“It’s not a situation where we would put people inside the building to fight (the fire) from inside,” Shawley said.
As firefighters worked from outside, the flames stubbornly persisted in spots they couldn’t reach from the exterior. For example, Shawley said at one point the fire was in the middle of the basement.
He said Equipment Connections engaged a contractor to dismantle the building before crews could finally put the fire out.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Firefighters weren’t sure where it started.
“We’re not exactly sure what the point of origin was,” Shawley said. “We contacted the state police fire marshal, and they’re conducting an investigation.”