Fire erupts at Hunter Truck Center
SUMMIT TWP — Tyler Hunter was closing down the Hunter Truck Center on Oneida Valley Road for the weekend Friday afternoon when he saw flames coming from one of the garages.
He called the 911 emergency center at 4:43 p.m. Then he called his dad.
Even before Tyler's father, Dave Hunter, a senior vice president for the company, got to the scene, he knew it would be a “big hurting” for the company.
“I knew at that moment it would be a lot of damage,” said Dave Hunter as he watched the firefighters work. “Everything in there just burns.”
Eleven fire companies battled the blaze for about two-and-a-half hours. Mike Bester, Lick Hill Volunteer Fire Department assistant chief, estimated the cost of damages at possibly $1 million.
Dave Hunter said the company's insurance representative would visit the scene, and the family is already planning on rebuilding the garage as quickly as possible.
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Bester said he arrived first to the scene to see flames shooting out from one of the garages. As the fire progressed, multiple explosions unfolded into heavy flames and smoke, causing the fire to engulf the rest of the body shop garage, which contained two tractor trailer trucks.Crews managed to extinguish fires in individual garages in the structure, but they were unable to keep it from spreading.The fire moved to the paint shop of an adjacent garage. Bester said the paint and paint thinners stored in the garages contributed to the fire's growth, which caused some of the heaviest smoke and flames to erupt.
Tyler Hunter, the center manager, said he was the only one at the shop when the fire started. Bester said no one was injured in the fire.Several employees visited the scene to support the Hunter family, who has owned the Hunter Truck company for four generations.Once the structure fire was nearly under control, a gentle rain washed over the dozens of firefighters present as they began clearing up the scene. Crews also closed down the road for the duration of the fire.Bester said the cause of the fire is not yet known.Fire departments responding included Lick Hill, Herman, Unionville, Chicora, Oneida Valley, East Butler, Butler Township, Slippery Rock, Saxonburg, Oakland Township, Prospect and North Washington. Also at the scene were the East Butler Ambulance and state police.
Senior vice president Nancy Hunter Mycka, who was out of town, told the Eagle the company has more than 20 locations in four states. The location that caught fire was purchased in 1980 and has 21 employees on staff.Some of the staff may be able to work in other Hunter Truck sites, she said.“It's a little like losing a child,” Hunter Mycka said.Dave Hunter said the center provides service to about 3,500 customers.Hunter Mycka said it will be a loss to the company, the employees and the community. She said the company donates money to local community organizations, including several of the fire departments that were on scene.“We plan to rebuild and be better and stronger for customers,” Hunter Mycka said.
