2-Alarm Fire Damages Butler Co. Restaurant
CABOT (KDKA) – Firefighters battled a two-alarm blaze at a Butler County restaurant Sunday afternoon.
Crews were called to the Star Bar and Grill on Marwood Road in Cabot around noon.
"When we got here, we had heavy smoke showing. We made an initial attack in the lower level of the building. Subsequently made two more attacks with two different more crews," Winfield Township Fire Department Chief John Hartman said.
Chief Hartman said they believe the fire started in the basement, but they won't know for sure until the fire marshal decides if they will investigate.
The biggest challenge of the day was getting water to the fire.
"It was a little bit difficult. We established one water supply about a mile-and-a-half up the road. We weren't able to keep up with that one, so we established a second one and eventually a third water supply," Chief Hartman said.
For a big two-story building that was fully involved, they were using 800 to 900 gallons of water a minute, but they had to haul it in via tanker trucks because there were no hydrants in the area.
"Luckily, we have had some rain recently so the [creeks] are high. We had large supplies in the pond so once we get the tankers here from the surrounding communities, things went pretty smooth," Chief Hartman said.
The restaurant had been in the region for more than six decades and had been remodeled over the years.
While that was great for patrons, it made things more difficult for the men and women fighting the fire.
"That was one of our biggest problems was the fact that the building has been renovated and added onto numerous times over the years. I believe someone told me it's been here since 1940-something. I could be wrong on that, but with the metal roof and false ceilings and different walls, it was difficult for us to contain and extinguish the fire," Chief Hartman said.
Now, it's up to the owners to decide if they are going to rebuild the Star Bar and Grill.
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