Fire destroys building
SOUTH BUFFALO TWP, Armstrong County — A fire Tuesday night that ripped through a kitchen countertop manufacturing business was apparently caused by an electrical malfunction with an engine-block heater in one of the firm's trucks, authorities said.
It took several hours and more than 100 firefighters from 17 departments in four counties to put out the blaze at Blume's Solid Surface Products on Freeport Road.
Damage was estimated at $1 million. Destroyed was the company's main building, which measured at least 200 by 200 feet, and its vast contents of product and machinery.
“The fire raced through here so fast that we couldn't catch it,” said Chief Randy Brozenick of the South Buffalo Township Fire Department.
A state police deputy fire marshal from the Butler barracks, who is leading the investigation, was at the fire Tuesday night and was to return this morning.
Investigators planned today to again sift through the rubble and speak more to company officials, some who showed up at the business Tuesday night after learning of the fire.
Gustave Blume, the president, and Dorothy Blume, vice president and treasurer, were unavailable for comment this morning.
A motorist headed to work was the first to notice the flames and called 911 at 6:08 p.m.
“He saw the truck (in back of the building) on fire,” Brozenick said. “We got there and saw it started from that truck, too. The wind was pushing (the fire) into the building.”
The truck, which had a block heater installed in the engine, was one of three trucks parked at the rear loading dock.
The first-arriving crews encountered immediate problems, fire officials said. The caps on two of the three nearest fire hydrants were frozen and would not open.Workers from the water authority were called and came out with heating devices to open the hydrants.But soon there was another problem — water runoff and frigid temperatures were making it hard for engines, trucks and tankers to reach the burning building.“The building sits on a hill,” said Brozenick, who is director of the Armstrong County's Emergency Management Agency. “The water was making it icy.”Firefighters used two access roads to reach the building. The road in back is about 200 feet long; the road to the front is about 600 feet long.“It was uphill no matter which way you went,” Brozenick said.The runoff was not only freezing over on the access roads, but on Freeport Road, too.The township road department and the state Department of Transportation both were called and rushed in salt trucks to help ease the treacherous driving conditions.A six-man attack crew from two fire departments was quickly sent into the back of the building — the heart of the fire.But before long the crew was pulled out as a safety measure due to dangerous conditions.“It looked like the roof was getting pretty weak and starting to cave in,” Brozenick said.Five minutes after that decision, the metal roof gave way.“Once the roof collapsed, we pretty much went into a defensive mode,” Brozenick said.Initial concern over unknown flammable materials inside the building was put to rest after company representatives told fire officials that there was no such risk, authorities said.About four hours after it started, the blaze was finally under control.These fire departments assisted the South Buffalo VFD:Kittanning No. 6, Worthington, Rayburn, Kittanning Township, Freeport, Ford City, all from Armstrong County.Additionally, Saxonburg, Buffalo Township, Sarver and Winfield, all from Butler County; Harrison Hills, Citizens Hose Co., Markle, Pioneer and Monroeville, all from Allegheny County; and Allegheny Township from Westmoreland County.The last crew did not leave the scene until 12:38 a.m. today.
