COOLBAUGH TOWNSHIP, PA — A business in Monroe County is destroyed after a fire Friday morning in Monroe County.
Firefighters were called to A&C Used Tires on Route 611 in Coolbaugh Township, near Tobyhanna, before 10 a.m. Friday.
Neighbor Mary Miller says she arrived home from grocery shopping to find the business next door destroyed.
"When I got here, it was all in flames. It was shooting up high and they said there's tires in the service station, so it was all black smoke, and you could hardly see anything "
Nearly a dozen fire departments tackled the fire.
The business owner tells Newswatch that 16 employees were working on a car with an oil leak in one of the service bays when the fire sparked. She says that's when everyone rushed out of the building.
"We received information that everyone on the first-floor and the second-floor apartments (were) out of the structure," said Coolbaugh Township Fire Chief George Dobson. "As a precaution, we made entry into the second floor where the apartments were and did a search."
Chief Dobson tells Newswatch 16 that this fire brought a number of challenges—everything from what was inside the building to water supply.
"There was some delay with the power company ensuring it was disengaged and de-energized to allow our aerial operations to flow water from a heightened position, and water supply is always an issue. We're very limited on hydrants here, but we have agencies, Monroe, Lackawanna, and Wayne, who assisted us."
The building is a total loss.
Officials are still investigating the cause