Firefighters quickly snuffed out an apparent electrical fire that ignited inside the front façade of a Rostraver Township business Tuesday evening.
The fire started just after 8 p.m. inside the electric sign at the Armed Forces Recruiting Center in Tri-County Plaza. No one was inside as the center was closed for the day.
Rostraver Central Fire Chief Vince Campbell said crews extinguished the fire before it could extend into the building or roof.
Firefighters used a ladder truck to tear into the façade while others used a handheld hose and doused hot spots. The sign sits approximately 15 feet above the outdoor sidewalk.
Campbell said he would notify the state police fire marshal, although there was nothing to indicate the fire was suspicious.
“It looks like the fire was electrical in nature and was (restricted) to the sign in the front part of the building,” Campbell said. “The damage was mostly limited to what you can see (outside). The guys did a good job. They got to it out front pretty quick.”
Rostraver Township police said they arrived soon after the call came in around 8:20 p.m. and evacuated three businesses that were still operating, including the Sky Nails salon which sits to the immediate left.
Steel City Family Chiropractic, which is to the right of the recruiting center, had been closed for the day.
Several businesses share a single roof on the building, including H&R Block and Italian Village Pizza, Campbell said. Both businesses were initially evacuated, but the pizza shop was back in operation less than an hour later.
Firefighters used fans to air out Sky Nails, as the entire inside was saturated by a white haze of smoke.
Campbell said it was fortunate the fire occured while other shops in the plaza were still open for business.
“If this happens at 2 in the morning, this building is gone,” Campbell said. “There's no fire suppression, there's no fire alarms. If somebody doesn't see it at this time of day, it's gone.”
On scene were Rostraver Central, Rostraver No. 1 and Collinsburg fire departments, the Sutersville Rapid Intervention Team, Rostraver–West Newton Emergency Medical Services and police officers from the Rostraver and North Belle Vernon departments.
Rick Bruni Jr. is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at rbruni@tribweb.com or 724-684-2635.
