Williamsport business extensively damaged in three-alarm fire
Firefighters work to gain entry to the office area of Pickelner Fuel Company near the foot of Locust Street in Williamsport on Sunday night during a three-alarm fire that extensively damaged the building. PHILIP HOLMES/Sun-Gazette
Smoke billows from the Pickelner Fuel Company at 210 Locust St. in Williamsport on Sunday night as firefighters work to put out a three-alarm fire. PHILIP HOLMES/Sun-Gazette
Firefighters work on the roof of Pickelner Fuel Company in Williamport, where a fire erupted about 6:30 p.m. Sunday. There were no reports of injuries. PHILIP HOLMES/Sun-Gazette
Firefighters used ground ladders as well as aerial apparatus to reach the roof of the burning building on Sunday night. PHILIP HOLMES/Sun-Gazette
Firefighters work to gain entry to the office area of Pickelner Fuel Company near the foot of Locust Street in Williamsport on Sunday night during a three-alarm fire that extensively damaged the building. PHILIP HOLMES/Sun-Gazette
Smoke billows from the Pickelner Fuel Company at 210 Locust St. in Williamsport on Sunday night as firefighters work to put out a three-alarm fire. PHILIP HOLMES/Sun-Gazette
Firefighters work on the roof of Pickelner Fuel Company in Williamport, where a fire erupted about 6:30 p.m. Sunday. There were no reports of injuries. PHILIP HOLMES/Sun-Gazette
Firefighters used ground ladders as well as aerial apparatus to reach the roof of the burning building on Sunday night. PHILIP HOLMES/Sun-Gazette
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A three-alarm fire Sunday night extensively damaged the large Pickelner Fuel Company warehouse-garage and office building at 210 Locust St., according to city firefighters.
There were no reports of injuries, and the 60×165 foot building was unoccupied when the blaze was reported about 6:30 p.m., fire Platoon Chief Mark Killian said.
The county’s 9-1-1 center received a handful of calls from people reporting the fire.
“As soon as we opened the doors of fire headquarters, we saw heavy smoke,” he said. The firehouse is just north of the warehouse on nearby Walnut Street.
A policeman en route to the scene said the fire “created a wall of smoke” that was blowing west down Second Street.
Upon arrival, one team of firefighters made an aggressive interior attack while another reached the roof and began cutting two large holes so that build up gases and smoke could escape the building.
“Dealing with very low visibility as well as high heat inside the structure, it took firemen about 15 to 20 minutes” to actually reach the fire, Killian explained.
The second and third alarms brought additional manpower and equipment from several surrounding communities to the blaze, which was brought under in about 45 minutes.
The origin and cause of the fire remain under investigation.