Cause Of Aliquippa Business Fire Believed To Be Suspicious
ALIQUIPPA (KDKA) - A total of eight fire companies were brought in to knock down a two-alarm blaze in Aliquippa Wednesday morning.
According to officials, the fire started around 5 a.m. in the 600-block of Davis Street in Aliquippa.
Firefighters believe the case is suspicious.
"I was in my kitchen and I heard something and it was like a noise like a pop, but I thought it may have been snow or something that fell off the roof," Anitra Lowe said.
When she went to her door, she saw flames shooting from every window of the building.
Up until about a month ago, the building had housed Walker's Market. Authorities say it was closed because of violations.
Community members say they see this space as a historic landmark since it's been around for over 60 years and used to be a senior citizens center.
"Go play cards there, eat breakfast, drink coffee. Since I was a kid that's where I used to go," Mayor Dewalt Walker said. "That's where you came to. That's where you met."
No one was inside when the fire started and crews had some challenges with water to douse the persistent flames.
"We have water up here, but not what we needed. So, we had a lot of tanker shuttles going," Aliquippa Fire Chief Dave Foringer said.
Neighbors lost power and their water service. Also, because school busses couldn't get to the blocked off streets, some Aliquippa High School students weren't able to get to class.
"We can't even go to school and it's just getting worse," Isiaha Tiucker said.
It took crews about four hours to get the fire under control.
One Aliquippa firefighter was injured when he initially went into the building and was shocked.
He was taken to the hospital where he was treated and released.
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