VANDERGRIFT, Pa. — Firefighters from at least five counties were called Friday night to put out an intense blaze that tore through a business in Vandergrift, Westmoreland County.
The fire broke out about 7:30 p.m. at Carpenter's Café on Longfellow Street. Emergency dispatchers said the business, which is in close proximity to neighboring buildings, had apartments in an upper floor.
At the height of the fire, flames and smoke could be seen shooting through windows and the roof of the building, which was destroyed. Firefighters then spent several hours putting out hot spots.
“They just opened a couple of years ago. They were doing really good, and it's really sad to see this. It's truly sad,” Denise Fulton, who lives in the area, said.
One firefighter suffered a minor ankle injury while working to help bring the fire under control. No other injuries were reported.
"It's bad. I mean everything's gone,” Carpenter's Café owner Steve Tatar said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
"They're saying it started in the back. I don't know it's undetermined, but as far as the top, it burned everything on top. The stuff on the bottom was OK, but it was underwater,” Tatar said.
A state police fire marshal said it may never be known how the fire began because there's too much structural collapse and damage to figure out where the flames started or how.