POTTSVILLE, Pa. — Crews in Schuylkill County battled a fire at a commercial building Wednesday morning.
It started before 7 a.m. along North Claude A. Lord Boulevard, also known as Route 61, in Pottsville.
Two people lived in an apartment in the building and were able to get out safely. No one was hurt.
The building houses six businesses.
The owner of Six-One Vapor Lounge says he arrived around 7:15 a.m. and saw smoke billowing from the building.
"Around 7 a.m., my sister was knocking on my door and let me know that the building that the shop was in was on fire," Sajun Matharu said. "It was just a ton of smoke. I couldn’t really see much fire, but it looked like the shop next to mine was going up."
The windows in the offices on the top floor have been broken, and a few of the businesses sustained fire damage.
Firefighters managed to pull various instruments out of Foltin's Music Center, but the owner says almost everything is ruined.
The owner of the tattoo parlor says his store sustained mostly water damage, but one employee says she expects they will need to purchase all new equipment.
Matharu says he hasn't been able to assess the damage to the vapor lounge, but he's planning a comeback.
"My family and I, we poured our hearts out into this. We've put every dollar we have into this business, and it's our livelihood. It's definitely stressful, but I have high hopes that it will turn around in our favor," said Matharu.
The assistant chief said this building caught on fire back in 1995 and was remodeled, and he believes that the building is still structurally sound.
There is no word on the cause.