GREENWOOD TOWNSHIP -- A fire in Columbia County Thursday left a community without a bar because it was the only one for miles.
Flames sparked around 9:30 a.m. Thursday at Village Inn near Millville on Route 42.
Emergency crews shut down Route 42 between Route 254 and Blackbird Road for over an hour to give fire crews room to fight the flames. It was reopened by 11 a.m., according to PennDOT.
"It's just huge to the community and it's gone," said Rachelle Yashimski, who bartended at the Village Inn.
Inside the bar, water and smoke had their way with most of everything inside. It took crews from five different fire companies to get the flames under control. The owners, carrying out what they could salvage, said they never saw this coming.
"We came back to open up the bar and there was smoke coming out of the roof," co-owner Tasha Seeley said.
More than just any old bar, the Village Inn was the only bar for people in the Millville area.
"This is the local hangout," said Chief Rober Bower, Millville Fire Company. "Millville doesn't have any bars in it, so this is the closest one. You go to Bloomsburg or Unityville or someplace."
"Within, I think, eight miles [it's the only bar]," Yashimski added. "Unless you're a legion member. That's why everybody came here. It's the only place to go."
Now, people say the dry community of Millville will need to find a new place to tap. Which won't be easy.
"It's the local watering hole," Bower added. "A lot of people spent time in here over the years and the younger crowd hangs out here now."
The fire marshal will be on scene Friday to determine the cause of it all. The Millville Fire Chief told Newswatch 16 that he believes the fire started where the electrical panel is located.
As for the future of the bar, the owners say they're taking things one day at a time.