Fire destroys several Franklin Township businesses
This Franklin Township building that housed five businesses and an apartment was destroyed by a fire early Wednesday morning. (Photo by Ed Riedmann)
Firefighters work to put out a fire in this Franklin Township building early Wednesday morning. (Photo by Ed Riedmann)
Carol Pultorak received an early morning phone call on Jan. 19 about a fire at the Franklin Township building that housed a clinic operated by her nonprofit.
The founder of Catnip Acres arrived as firefighters tried to get the blaze under control.
鈥淚t was just raging,鈥� Pultorak said. 鈥淭here was fire coming out from everywhere. We could tell there wasn鈥檛 going to be anything left.鈥�
The building that had housed the nonprofit鈥檚 clinic, four other businesses and an apartment was destroyed by the early-morning blaze.
Waynesburg-Franklin Township Fire Company Chief Jeff Marshall said crews went to 175 Wade St. at 4:59 a.m.
鈥淭he entire roof is gone. It鈥檚 a total loss, nothing was saved,鈥� Marshall said.
According to Marshall, a woman and her child who lived in the apartment made it out safely. He said no one was injured in the fire.
Marshall said the American Red Cross was assisting the family displaced from the apartment.
Also responding to the fire were Jefferson Fire Company, Carmichaels-Cumberland Township Fire Company and Rices Landing Fire Department.
The style of roof on the building made it susceptible to collapse under heavy fire, according to Marshall.
鈥淭he fire was fought from the outside. Nobody entered the building after we knew everybody was out,鈥� Marshall said.
Also operating out of the building was All Seasons Mats and Linen, Pine Tree Quilt Shop, Dubtown Vapes and Nail Policz.
Marshall said the fire started in the back of the building where All Seasons Mats is located, but the exact cause of the blaze remains under investigation by the state police fire marshal.
Tom Smith, owner of the building and co-owner of All Seasons Mats, said he got the call about the fire at 5 a.m.
Smith鈥檚 business had been there for 10 years. He called the fire, 鈥渄evastating.鈥�
Catnip Acres also operates a rescue facility at 155 Dark Hollow Road, Waynesburg. There were no animals at the Franklin clinic at the time of the fire.
Pultorak started Catnip Acres 33 years ago. In that time, she said the nonprofit has spayed or neutered 35,000 cats. In recent years, they have also begun offering the same service for dogs.
Catnip Acres aims to help seniors and low-income individuals with their clinic.
鈥淪o many people depended on Catnip Acres,鈥� Pultorak said.
Pultorak, who planned to retire this year, feels the work her facility does in the community is vital. She and her colleagues are focusing on finding a new place to operate. She said the equipment at the clinic was the top of the line and was covered by insurance.
鈥淲e plan on coming back. We鈥檙e in the process of ordering computers and phones. We鈥檙e looking around for property. Even something short term would be OK,鈥� Pultorak said. 鈥淲e have a meeting Saturday. We鈥檙e going to sit down and do some planning.鈥�
She added the community has already pitched in to help and some have reached out with ideas for a new location.
A GoFundMe for Catnip Acres had raised more than $5,500 as of Wednesday evening. A link to the page is available on Catnip Acres鈥� Facebook page.
Like Smith and Pultorak, Linda Jones also got the phone call at about 5 a.m. She decided it best to wait until daylight to see the damage.
Around 9:30 a.m. she saw that Pine Tree Quilt Shop, the business she ran for 11 years, had been destroyed.
For Jones, it was a difficult sight to see.
鈥淥ur main goal was to teach people how to quilt,鈥� Jones said. 鈥淲e had several beautiful quilts that were made. We had bolt after bolt of beautiful fabric.鈥�
Before she started the business, Jones taught English for 32 years at West Greene High School. She said opening the quilt shop had been a dream of hers.
鈥淭he quilt shop was named after a quilt my grandmother had made, which was the pine tree pattern. The quilt is safe with me. It wasn鈥檛 at the shop,鈥� Jones said.
Customers who came to the store became friends, and Jones said many of them offered comfort in the aftermath of the fire.
鈥淓ven a couple of the local quilt shops have reached out to see if they can help out. That has been quite consoling, the number of people who have reached out to me today,鈥� Jones said.
Jones was grateful that no one had been hurt by the fire.
鈥淚n the long run, no lives were lost and no one was injured. That鈥檚 what we need to focus on now,鈥� Jones said.