Two displaced, several businesses damaged in city fire

POTTSVILLE – A commercial fire in the county seat damaged several businesses and displaced two people from apartments upstairs Wednesday morning.

Firefighters from the Pottsville Bureau of Fire were called to 450 Claude A Lord Boulevard, Route 61, the Foltin’s Music Center building, around 6:30am for a reported commercial fire.

Smoke poured from the building when crews arrived on scene.

“The fire was in-between walls, in-between ceilings and floors, it was a tough fire,” Jim Misstishin, Pottsville fire chief, said. “They did a heck of a job in there.”

Misstishin said the fire was brought under control around 8:30am, two hours after the first call came.

Along with his seven station bureau, additional resources from the surrounding area were called on the commercial alarm, bringing crews from Minersville, Saint Clair, Schuylkill Haven, and Orwigsburg to the scene.

Additional crews were called for manpower, including Mahanoy City, Tamaqua, Llewellyn, and Girardville, or to cover the city, like Shenandoah’s Rescue Hook and Ladder tiller.

Fire police from surrounding areas were dispatched as well to manage traffic around the major artery, which included Hometown.

Misstishin commended the response.

“The volunteerism in Schuylkill County is great. We have a great mutual aid setup with everybody,” Misstishin said. “This was the worst time of day to have a fire, because volunteers are going to work and already left for work, so we’re pulling from Mahanoy City, Pine Grove, I had to get from where I had people available.”

No one was hurt in the firefight, Misstishin said.

Route 61 began to reopen around 10:00am.

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Kaylee Lindenmuth

Kaylee Lindenmuth is a Shenandoah native with a passion for journalism and the community she calls home.

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