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Blaze damages former police barracks
It appeared to Record to be coming from the former state police barracks that the hospital had bought earlier this month.
"I thought, 'No, no, be a Dumpster in the rear,'" said Record, the medical facility's vice president of support services.
"But it wasn't."
A section about 40 feet long toward the rear of the vacant structure was damaged after the fire started about 8 a.m. yesterday.
The blaze, which was labeled as accidental by a state police fire marshal, caused an estimated $150,000 in damage to the former state police station.
Township fire Chief Aaron Coleman said the fire was "through the roof" of the damaged portion of the building by the time firefighters arrived. It took firefighters from four companies about 30 minutes to get the blaze under control, he said.
The rest of the building was spared. No one was injured, Coleman said.
The structure has been vacant for nearly two years. In the summer of 2003, state police moved into a new facility across Route 119 from the one damaged by the fire.
Firefighters were on the scene when he pulled off Route 119 and inquired about the smoke, Record said.
"It was an accidental fire," said fire marshal Thomas Maher, of the Uniontown barracks, while at the scene yesterday. "It was in the electric wiring (in a drop ceiling)."
Members of a hospital work crew were in the process of beginning demolition of another section of the building when the fire started, Record said.
"They smelled the smoke. They went to investigate, and that's when they found the ceiling (tiles) on fire," Record said.
The hospital finalized on paperwork to buy the building on Friday. The purchase price was about $400,000, officials said.
The former owners were W.B. Kania and Associates, MRJ&L Realty, Deborah Ann Krzysiak and Lawrence Filiaggi, hospital officials said.
An electrician will be inspecting the building, which was insured, Record said.
The medical facility still plans to use the structure to house Fayette Home Care, a group that supplies in-home health care workers.
"We obviously plan on fixing the building," Record said.
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