Site last updated: Wednesday, May 27, 2026

Log In

Reset Password
MENU
Butler County's great daily newspaper

Glass Factory Fire Pictures

'It's a loss for Penn Township- It's a historic structure.'

A huge fire that severely damaged a historic, commercial building Friday night rekindled Saturday morning causing heavy damages to an attached building with shops and garages.

Seven fire departments responded when the fire was initially reported at 9 p.m. Friday at a large, brick building 103 Hicks Road, which was once a Franklin Glass plant, and four of the departments returned at 8:30 a.m. Saturday when the fire reignited, said Bill Glace, chief of the Penn Township Volunteer Fire Department.

A huge fire that severely damaged a historic, commercial building Friday night rekindled Saturday morning causing heavy damages to an attached building with shops and garages. Seven fire departments responded when the fire was initially reported at 9 p.m. Friday at a large, brick building 103 Hicks Road, which was once a Franklin Glass plant, and four of the departments returned at 8:30 a.m. Saturday when the fire reignited, said Bill Glace, chief of the Penn Township Volunteer Fire Department.

Ashes and wreckage from Friday night's fire at the old glass factory continued to smolder Saturday with small fires reigniting throughout the day.

A burnt engine parts from the workshop destroyed in the second fire Saturday morning.

George Messer looks through the smoldering wreckage of his friends' classic car workshop Saturday. Remnants from the original Friday night fire are believed to have sparked a second fire Saturday morning that destroyed a neighboring workshop space containing a number of classic cars.

Renters of space in the old glass factory stand outside the skeletal remains of the old building Saturday. Tenents gathered to look through rubble of the secondary building that caught fire Saturday morning. Smoldering ashes from the original fire Friday night fire are believed to have sparked the second fire.

Rob Goupil (left) offers Joe Sharon consolation as the friends look over the wreckage of their 'man cave' auto workshop. The two lost a number of classic cars they had been working on, as well as spare parts and tools. Initially spared from the Friday night fire that destroyed the old glass factory in Renfrew, their workshop caught fire Saturday morning, likely from rekindled ashes from the original blaze.

Wreckage from the collapsed roof and interior of the old glass factory that caught fire Friday night.

1978 GMC High Sierra destroyed in secondary fire Saturday Morning. Seb Foltz/Butler Eagle
Wreckage from the collapsed roof and interior of the old glass factory that caught fire Friday night. Seb Foltz/Butler Eagle
Tenants of the glass factory look over the ruins of the burnt out building Saturday. The Friday night fire rekindled Saturday morning destroying a secondary building (left) next to the original structure. Seb Foltz/Butler Eagle
Rob Goupil looks through the ashes of the workshop space he and friend Joe Sharon rented to work on classic cars. Sharon called it a "man cave" workshop. Their cars were spared from the initial fire Friday night that destroyed the old glass factory building. A second fire sparked Saturday morning destroying a secondary building containing a number of restored cars, car parts and mechanic tools. Seb Foltz/Butler Eagle
Shells of a 1986 Ford Thunderbird Supercoup (left) and 88 Ford Mustang GT in the workshop destroyed in the secondary fire Saturday morning. Seb Foltz/Butler Eagle
Joe Sharon of Pittsburgh walks through the wreckage of the 'man cave' worshop space he and Rob Goupil rented to restore classic cars. Spared from the initial Friday night fire, Sharon's space caught fire in a second blaze Saturday morning, likely sparked by remaining hotspots from the previous night's fire that destroyed the old glass factory, now comercial space, in Renfrew. Seb Foltz/Butler Eagle

More in Local News

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

* indicates required
TODAY'S PHOTOS