Accident with low power lines causes fire
A tractor trailer making a delivery to Pizza Hut on Route 8 in Butler Township hit power lines Thursday night, causing power outages in the area and a fire in the restaurant.
The truck driver, Rene Aumada, 44, of Virginia snagged some low hanging wires while leaving the parking lot, according to Butler Township police. The snag broke a West Penn Power utility pole that held three transformers.
That initial accident occurred just before midnight Thursday night. At some point shortly afterward, another vehicle driven by Gene Gornick Sr., 34, of Cheswick hit some of the affected power lines that were draped on Route 8. He and his four passengers weren't injured, according to police.
Almost an hour after the initial accident was called in, several area fire departments were called to the scene for a related fire at the Pizza Hut, according to the Butler Bureau of Fire. The city firefighters weren't on the initial call, but were the first with an engine on the scene.
Smoke was seen coming from a side of the building, the fire bureau reported. Firefighters entered and used a thermal imaging camera to locate the fire. Flames were out of immediate sight, hidden above the restaurant's drop ceiling. Crews removed ceiling panels, found the flames and promptly extinguished the fire.
The fire at Pizza Hut killed the power for about 965 customers in the immediate area, according to West Penn Power spokesman Todd Meyers.
Power was restored for all of the customers around 2 a.m., Meyers said, except for Pizza Hut.
The store's power capability was restored by West Penn Power later in the morning, he said, but wasn't energized yet as the store needed to make its own repairs.
The Pizza Hut was closed Friday, and crews were on site moving perishable goods from the store.
The damaged pole was replaced during West Penn Power's repairs.
