Fire rips through Worsley's building
Just after 4 p.m. Friday, Jake Byers and Paige Taggart watched as their apartment in the Worsley's building on Main Street went up in flames.
Just before then, Taggart was on the phone with Byers, her fiance, when she entered the living room of her apartment and saw the couch on fire.
“If it happened by the couch, it had to be our heater,” Byers speculated, speaking of an electric heater that was next to the couch in the apartment on 161 N. Main St.
Taggart made it out of the third floor of the Worsley's building unharmed. Others in the building also made it out safely.
But the fire consumed the landmark building.
About 4:30 p.m., Mayor Tom Donaldson had hoped the building could be saved.
“It's a shame,” he said as he watched firefighters battle the fire. “We were hoping to get four good stores in the storefront there. Now it depends on an assessment of the building afterward.”
But two hours later, Donaldson's hopes had been dashed.
“I'd say it's damaged beyond salvation,” he said.
That assessment was confirmed later Friday night by Butler Fire Chief Nick Ban, who said the building's condition was irreparable following the hours-long battle to extinguish the flames. Ban said heavy damage from smoke, fire and water made the building unlivable.
“It will be condemned this evening,” Ban said. “I'll recommend they tear down this building for safety reasons.”
As they fought the blaze, firefighters cut trenches in the roof in an attempt to prevent the fire from spreading. They battled the fire from the inside, the outside and the roof of the building.
The main challenge, Ban said, came when the fire got into the space between the structure's ceiling and its roof, making it difficult to get to.
Ban said fire departments used “thousands upon thousands of gallons of water” extinguishing the fire.One unidentified firefighter was injured when he suffered an electrical shock from a live electrical line. That firefighter was treated there by medical crews before returning to battle the blaze.In the early stages of the fight, an attack crew from the Butler Fire Department swept the building to ensure everyone had made it out safely and also evacuated the adjacent building, which houses Irene Stacy Community Mental Health Center staff and patients. As many as 17 patients had to be evacuated.Keri Dolan, who owns the Worsley's building with her mother, Lorraine Worsley, and sister, Cheryl Worsley, said the fire was so intense that she saw smoke billowing from the building from the Picklegate Bridge as she drove into the city.“My heart started pumping real hard,” Dolan said. “You start thinking 'Oh, gosh.' But my first thought was for the tenants.”The building houses seven two-story apartments on its second and third floors. Six of the apartments were rented and one was vacant, Dolan said.In all, she believed there were 10 tenants — most in their 20s — living in the building, including several young children.Dolan learned of the fire from one of those tenants and was near the Penn-Butler Township line south of the city when she took the initial phone call. Before long, she said, her cell phone was “blowing up” with calls and messages conveying comments of hope and words of encouragement.She said she was thankful when she learned that everyone in the building had reached safety.“That was a huge relief,” Dolan said.The blaze and the seven-hour fight to extinguish it drew many spectators.City Council member Kathy Kline said she was heartsick as she watched the fire tear through the venerable building.“It (smoke) was so think that I couldn't see the steeple of St. Paul's (Catholic) Church,” she said.
The church just behind Worsley's is another Butler landmark.“It's sad because Worsley's was such a staple of our community for a lot of years,” Kline said. “I was sad when it closed, and I'm even sadder now.”Stephanie Kobil, who has lived in Butler for more than 20 years, was passing by when she saw the fire.“I don't like seeing any fire,” she said. “I knew it was big when I came around the corner.”Another Butler resident, Mark Stanwick, read about the fire online and walked up the street to check it out.“I saw it on Facebook, so I rushed down to see what was going on,” he said.Jeff Monday, owner of Monday's Boots and Shoes at 208 N. Main St., said he heard from customers at his store that the fire had broken out, and he watched as the fire grew from its early stages.“When you start hearing that many fire trucks, you know it's not good,” Monday said.The initial dispatch call sending emergency responders to Worsley's came at 3:52 p.m. A number of fire companies would be dispatched to fight the fire. Butler police assisted, cordoned off a four block area on Main Street, north and south of the building.While red and yellow police tape kept intrigued spectators at bay, firefighters on engine ladders directed hoses, spraying water at the flames as thick clouds of smoke billowed into the sky.Hoses and oxygen tanks lined the streets and water poured out doorways of the building and onto the sidewalk and down North and Main streets.Firefighters would stay on scene until 10:43 p.m. Friday, extinguishing hot spots and ensuring the building would not reignite, Chief Ban said.“The block didn't burn down and our guys busted their butts off,” Ban said. “They did one helluva job, given the age of the building, the size of the building and the condition of the building.”
The cause of the fire was not immediately known to firefighters, Ban said. He said an investigation would be done.“At some point we'll figure out exactly what happened,” Ban said.Red Cross worker Donna Baughman said her agency talked with each apartment resident and was offering them food, clothing and shelter.Dolan said Saturday morning her family would meet with Ban and city code enforcement officer John Evans as well as their insurance adjustors. Dolan said she also would meet with her tenants soon to see if anything could be salvaged from their apartments.She thanked firefighters and business owners who approached her Friday with well-wishes and offers of assistance.“Butler's getting a bad reputation, but when it comes down to things like this, as a community we pull together,” Dolan said. “The downtown community is amazing.”Worsley's closed in 2014 after being in business for 87 years. It was founded in 1927 and sold a variety of merchandise included furniture, collectibles, paint supplies and teaching supplies.Fire departments called included the city fire department, VA Bulter Healthcare, the Butler Area Fire District, Herman, Saxonburg, Chicora, Unionville, Penn Township and South Butler.The Butler Ambulance Service, city police and the Salvation Army also were there.
'It's sad because Worsley's was such a staple of our community for a lot of years. I was sad when it closed, and I'm even sadder.'
Kathy Kline, city council member
