Saturday was supposed to be the culmination of a weeklong grand opening at the new location of Dixie's Women's Fashions in The Shoppes at Caste Village. Instead, store owners spent the day taking inventory of smoke-damaged merchandise.
"We worked so hard on this beautiful store," said Katie Browne, as she and her mother and shop co-owner, Doris Koehler, sorted through racks of clothing.
The Whitehall shop was one of approximately a dozen businesses in the plaza at the corner of Baptist and Weyman roads damaged in a fire Friday night. According to Whitehall fire Chief Lee Price, the fire started at approximately 9:10 p.m. in the Dollar Discount store, shortly after most of the businesses had closed for the evening. No one was in Dollar Discount when the blaze erupted.
Price said the fire was contained to Dollar Discount, but thick smoke from burning plastic and paper merchandise spread to neighboring businesses. Damage was contained to just one section of the multi-building plaza. Dollar Discount, Equity One Inc. and an empty store were destroyed. Damage estimates were unavailable and fire officials were still working to determine the cause of the blaze.
"The firefighters did a tremendous job preventing this fire from taking out the whole plaza," Price said.
The plaza, which also contains an enclosed arcade area, is managed by The Royal Mile Co. Representatives refused to comment.
Price said firefighters from several South Hills fire companies attacked the blaze from both the back and the front of the plaza, but were unable to cut through the strip mall's concrete roof to ventilate the fire.
"All the smoke was unbelievable," Price said.
Several businesses in the section where the fire occurred were closed yesterday because of smoke damage.
The Village Lanes bowling alley in the basement of the damaged section suffered heavy water damage.
Scott Comport, who manages that bowling alley as well as Princess Lanes, farther down the plaza, said he doesn't expect to reopen until at least June 1.
Business owners spent yesterday assessing damage as representatives from several restoration companies began cleaning up soot and smoke.
Signs posted on the closed Super Cuts salon advised patrons to go to one of the business' other locations and a sign posted on the door of Wallace Bakery said that business would reopen next week.
Browne said her entire inventory of women's clothing and accessories is likely a total loss. She is not sure whether her suppliers will be able to furnish replacements for the spring and summer clothing that was lost.
Still, she appreciated the work of firefighters, who contained the blaze and then let business owners into their damaged stores.
"They even helped carry things out to the car," she said. "It was a terrible thing, but they made it bearable."
