Vacant building slated for demolition burns in Center Township
CENTER TWP — A vacant building at the intersection of Route 8 and Clyde Lane was destroyed in a fire Tuesday, Dec. 30.
According to Mike Pflugh, chief of Unionville Volunteer Fire Company, the building was already set for demolition and at least one person was working there on Tuesday afternoon preparing the building when the fire broke out.
While a cause hasn’t been confirmed, Pflugh said a candle in the building may have started the blaze.
“(The building) was up for demo and they were in the process of demolishing it,” Pflugh said. “There was a guy here working on it who had a candle and he thinks maybe the candle got the building on fire.”
Pflugh added no one was injured or required hospitalization as a result of the fire.
Just over an hour after emergency crews were called to the scene, a bulldozer was brought in to knock down a side of the building.
“This stuff is probably going to be smoking and smoldering for days,” Pflugh said.
According to Butler County property records, the building belongs to Mike DeMayo, who purchased it for $125,000 in November 2025.
Earlier this year, the property was listed for sale through the Berkshire Hathaway realty firm. According to the website’s listing, the structure was built in 1955 and was condemned by Center Township prior to the fire.
“The building is considered uninhabitable in its present state and may be beyond repair,” the listing said. “The property is being sold as is.”
Aside from Unionville, other fire departments that responded to the blaze included Slippery Rock, Portersville, West Sunbury, Herman, Butler Township, Oneida Valley, Harrisville and North Washington, along with the Butler Ambulance Service and West Penn Power.
