SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, PA – At 4:35 PM on Saturday, January 28, Schuylkill County 9-1-1 transmitted a first alarm assignment to the area of 929 East Mountain Road in Hegins Township for a reported business building fire at West End Electric.
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The first alarm included Districts 13 (Hegins Valley), 14 (Sacramento – Hubley Twp.), 10 (Pitman – Eldred Twp.), 58 (North End – Pine Grove), a Rapid Intervention Team from Pottsville (Stations 50 & 60), Engines from Jolliett and Gratz (Dauphin County) and Hegins Area Ambulance.
Engine 14-10 and Tanker 14-30 were the first units responding and were advised that a caller was reporting smoke was pouring from the building that houses West End Electric. Chief 14-02 arrived on scene shortly after and found a vehicle on fire inside the building with smoke showing from a single story metal pole building.
Shortly after the update of the vehicle fire, Chief 14-02 radioed to incoming units that the fire had now spread to the building. Alert tones began to sound and all units were advised of a working building fire at 4:43 PM.
Chief 13-02 arrived on the scene and assumed command and requested a tanker task force be dispatched to the scene. Tankers dispatched included Districts 3 (Llewellyn), 4 (Lavelle), 12 (Donaldson), 21 (Suedberg), 24 (Newtown) and 46 (Gordon). Also dispatched were Tanker 810 (Jolliett), Tanker 26 (Berrysburg – Dauphin County) and Tanker 27 (Gratz – Dauphin County).
Apparatus arrived on the scene to find heavy fire throughout the building which included a two story office area against the “B” side and began to stretch multiple lines off Engine 14-10. A portable pond was set up at the pump panel of 14-10 and tankers began to drop their water. Engine 810 was assigned to a tanker fill site but found trouble accessing the pond; Engine 58-15 was redirected to an additional fill site and set up to fill the tankers.
Engine 13-15 positioned in front of 14-10 and stretched multiple lines to the building while being supplied by 14-10. Ladder 58-25 was directed to the A/D corner and flew the stick to the roof allowing crews to ascend for vertical ventilation.
Crews attempted to knock down the fire with multiple heavy lines and portable monitors however the fire continued to spread throughout the building. Additional firefighters went around the building with saws and opened the exterior walls to find additional spots of fire.
Smoke continued to pour out of the building despite the efforts of the firefighters on the scene. Once the smoke from the main garage began to dissipate, thick brown smoke began to push from the office area. The smoke continued to gain momentum and then erupted in flames until a firefighter quickly doused them; crews made an attempt to push inside.
Firefighters were unable to make it all the way into the building due to safety concerns but they attempted to knock down the fire from all different angles. Ladder 58 repositioned the aerial to a small porch roof where firefighters cut the front of the building away and hit the second floor area with a handline from the roof.
After hours of hard work, the fire was finally placed under control at 7:06 PM and most units were released with the exception of the first in units and the truck company. A State Police Fire Marshal was called to the scene to help investigate the origin of the fire. Remaining crews were released later in the evening. No injuries were reported on the scene.
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