UNIONTOWN, Pa. — A fire tore through the former Sam’s Restaurant in Uniontown and spread to a neighboring house containing apartments before firefighters were able to bring the flames under control.
People were living in the neighboring house and were able to get out safely. The fire spread into the attic of the home.
Uniontown Fire Chief Scott Conn said protecting the people living next door was firefighters’ first priority.
“First thing we always address life safety, got the people out of the exposure house,” Conn said.
Firefighters initially attacked the fire from inside the former restaurant, but conditions forced crews to change tactics.
“Unfortunately, restaurants, there’s a lot of wide-open floor space, so after about 10 minutes we pulled out and we went to an all-exterior attack,” Conn said.
The fire caused significant damage to the former restaurant. From the outside, portions of the roof could be seen collapsing into the building.
Neighbors described seeing flames shooting from the building as the fire burned.
“You could see the flames shooting out from the back,” neighbor Kristine Revay said.
For longtime residents, the damage also marked a dramatic change to the neighborhood.
“I’ve been here my whole life, and that place has been standing there for a very long time,” neighbor Skila Sullivan said. “It’s kind of sad to see it like this.”
The cause of the fire was not immediately clear. The Pennsylvania State Fire Marshal is investigating.
“You just don’t know what’s gonna happen when you go to bed one night and you think everyone’s OK and you wake up the next morning and everything is gone,” Revay said.
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