SUNBURY — More than 100 firefighters used in excess of 1 million gallons of water in battling a two-alarm blaze late Friday afternoon that destroyed a Market Street business.
Firefighters from 10 Valley companies fought the blaze that left The Peppermint Ristorante & Music Club, 700 Market St., in ruins and caused air quality concerns at a high rise for senior citizens across the street.
“It’s gone, baby,” Robert Snyder said of the business he has owned for 17 years, adding that his former fire insurance policy had expired Thursday. His new policy took effect Friday.
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Snyder and four employees were setting up speakers downstairs around 4:30 p.m. in preparation for three bands’ performances Friday night when they saw smoke.
Snyder asked whether the smoke machine had been turned on.
His employees said no and grabbed fire extinguishers. Snyder headed for the second floor, opened a door and was overcome by smoke and flames.
“When I went upstairs, the smoke was like a thick fog,” he said. “And then there were flames, all of a sudden. I don’t know how it started. I can’t believe how fast it started, how quickly it spread.”
Snyder’s first concern was to “make sure everyone was safe, our neighbors.”
His hair singed, he dialed 911 and ran out of the building.
But Sunbury Fire Chief Chad Betz, who was driving down Market Street, had already called in the blaze after noticing smoke around 4:45 p.m.
“At first I didn’t think it would be this serious,” Betz said later Friday.
Workers from the Central Keystone Federal Credit Union, a block away, also called 911.
“We saw it when it all started,” said credit union employee Nicole Blank, of Sunbury. “We weren’t sure what it was ... just a lot of smoke, and then it began to billow out of the roof. There was smoke everywhere. Too much smoke. I was outside, and I couldn’t breathe.”
Other onlookers thought they heard an explosion inside the building, but Snyder said that was possibly just the second floor collapsing.
The first firefighters arrived just after 5 p.m.
When the flames broke out, some shooting 35 feet into the sky, Betz called in a second alarm.
A one-alarm fire is a call to the Sunbury Fire Department and to certain equipment carriers at the Northumberland Fire Company, Betz said. A second alarm requests additional assistance from neighboring fire departments. Also factoring into alarm calls is the type of equipment needed to battle a certain fire, Betz said. For example, he said he called for certain kinds of fire engines from Shamokin Dam, but didn’t want to deplete that borough’s fleet.
Fire companies from as far away as Mifflinburg responded.
At one point, five 100-foot-tall hook-and-ladder trucks doused the roof of the building, but wind gusts and hot spots inside the structure kept firefighters busy.
The building is a total loss, said Betz, who couldn’t provide a damage estimate.
“You know what hurts?” asked Snyder, of Sunbury, his face red from the cold and admittedly in shock.
“The new stage, the new (public address) system, the drum kit. We were all set to open. Now, I need new drums. I watched the second floor collapse on the drums.”
The fire destroyed an apartment in the building where Snyder’s son, Robert III, was living. His son was returning from a trip when the fire broke out.
Snyder said he hadn’t thought about reopening.
“I imagine that’s what I’ll do,” he said. “But right now, I’m still in shock.”
Across the street, a maintenance worker at Scott Towers came to the high rise upon hearing about the fire from his son.
“I had to shut the intakes down so the smoke wouldn’t get in,” he said after tenants complained of the smell.
Two hours into the fire, Scott Towers became a haven where firemen could take a break from the frigid wind and dropping temperatures and get food.
“The community came together on this,” Betz said. “People were bringing us hot coffee, things to eat.”
Sunbury Mayor Jesse Woodring said Friday night he was thankful that there were no reported injuries and that he planned to revisit the fire scene just after 9 p.m.
“I don’t get involved with these guys,” he said of firefighters. “They don’t need me around interfering. Thank God for these guys. I saw fire trucks from Northumberland, Shamokin Dam, all over, come in here to help. They’re all volunteer fire companies, volunteer firefighters. They literally put themselves at risk. I can’t express enough words of gratitude for them to do this, and on a volunteer basis.”
Woodring said he is devastated that the Peppermint — owned by Snyder, a one-term city councilman who left office in 2005 — was destroyed by the fire that also affected adjacent businesses with smoke and water damage.
“I would hope that what we ... can address (those businesses’ future) as quickly as possible, to do whatever it is to restore them and get things back as quickly as possible,” Woodring said. “Understand, it’s not going to happen overnight.”
Woodring said he was not aware of any traffic or crowd control problems.
“We had an excellent response from our emergency people,” Woodring said. “These guys do a fantastic job. But what it does is give us pause to realize what a wonderful group of men and women provide this service to us.”
Friday’s was the largest fire in the city’s downtown in 10 years. Two firefighters were injured in a Feb. 24, 1999, blaze that destroyed Sunbury Piano & Organ Co. and the ophthalmology office of Dr. William C. LeMasters on the 400 block of Market Street. Betz was injured fighting that blaze, as was Firman Abdul. Firefighters from at least six communities responded.
The Feb. 24, 1999, blaze occurred just two doors away from where another noted fire occurred 30 years ago. That fire wrecked the Rialto Theater at 445 Market St. the afternoon of Dec. 27, 1978.
Fire companies that responded to Friday’s fire include East Sunbury Hose Company No. 1, Upper Augusta Fire Company, Shamokin Dam, Shamokin, Tuckahoe Fire Company of Point Township, Americus Hose Company, Northumberland Hook & Ladder, Mifflinburg, Selinsgrove and Coal Township.
The blaze was contained just after 8 p.m., Betz said.
“It was a battle,” Sunbury Fire Department First Assistant Dean Weirick said. “But we won.”
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Fire destroys Sunbury's Peppermint Lounge
Owner's new fire insurance policy took effect Friday
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