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Demolition Underway at Fire-Gutted Motel in Sciota

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP — The owners of a motel in the Poconos that burned back in May have finally started clearing away the debris. It’s a welcome sight for p...

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP -- The owners of a motel in the Poconos that burned back in May have finally started clearing away the debris.

It’s a welcome sight for people in the Sciota area who have been wondering all these months about what was being done about the property.

The fire happened more than five months ago and now finally neighbors are seeing some much-needed cleanup, but they’re still wondering what comes next?

Load after load of debris was lifted up and put into haulers in Sciota. It’s the first real sign of progress at the former Pocono View Inn.

"The excavator tore everything down. What he does is he runs over it, breaks it up so it's a little bit finer so we can get more on the trailers,” said Jim Paragino of E.F. Possinger Inc.

In May, fire ripped through the motel on Route 209 leaving practically nothing to salvage.

Jim Paragino who is helping with the demolition says he saw the flames from the Snydersville Diner.

"The whole area was nothing but a fireball. I mean it was just as if the sun was bursting coming up over the horizon,” said Paragino.

Neighbor Sheila Tice is putting an addition on her home across the road and is happy to see these crews.

"We're thankful that they're getting it cleaned up sooner than I expected,” said Tice.

This heavy machinery is carefully sorting out the scrap metal trying to salvage some profits. The debris is being dumped at a landfill in Penn Argyl.

Once all of the debris is picked up, contractors say there's still a lot of work to do. The next step for them will be filling in all of the remaining holes. The swimming pool is being emptied, too.

"They're pulling that in. Now what they're going to do with it, I have no idea. I know we're pumping it out now and it's going to be pulled in and broken up,” said Paragino.

Owner Chet Patel said in May they planned to rebuild.

Hamilton Township says as of right now, no paperwork for new building plans has been submitted.

Neighbors remain hopeful as the debris is hauled away.

"If they put something there, I hope it's a nice restaurant or a nice hotel, something that will be good for the area,” said Dr. Lawrence Kahn.

The cause of the fire at the Pocono View Inn was never determined.

Demolition crews hope to wrap up their work by the end of the week.

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