Toll of trucking facility fire could pass $1M

Nov. 28--Damage to a Harmar trucking facility that burned to the ground Friday night could cost more than $1 million.

Joe Luera, assistant chief at Allegheny Valley Volunteer Fire Company, said that figure could climb as the Allegheny County Fire Marshal's office and insurance companies continue their investigation at Ideal Trucking.

Luera and Matt Brown, chief of Allegheny County's emergency services, said the cause has not been determined of the fire that consumed a 60- by 60-foot pole building on Rich Hill Road.

Also destroyed were five tractor-trailers -- three that were inside the building and two nearby. Luera said two classic cars inside, including a Shelby Mustang, also were obliterated.

Firefighters from about 10 responding companies also had to use caution because propane tanks, welding equipment and other potentially flammable materials were housed there. "That all started exploding," Luera said.

He said there are no initial signs that the fire's cause is suspicious, but he said the county fire marshal's office and insurance companies for the property owners aren't through with their investigations. He expected them to return to the site Monday.

"Deputy fire marshals are continuing their interviews and investigation at this time," Brown said in a statement provided Saturday evening by Allegheny County spokeswoman Amie Downs.

Luera said the fenced property was locked when first responders arrived shortly before 6 p.m. Friday: "We had to bust the gate open."

An alarm company notified 911 of an alarm sounding at the building. Police officers who were the first to arrive found the building engulfed, Luera said.

Although there were initial environmental concerns about large quantities of diesel fuel leaking from the vehicles or other potential contaminants, fire officials said those fears were largely unfounded.

"The owner has not yet confirmed what all was in the structure at the time of the fire, so it is difficult to estimate how much diesel fuel was involved," Brown said. "However, most of it was certainly consumed in the fire."

Luera said once the exterior fire was extinguished, firefighters used as little water as possible to reduce the potential for contaminated runoff. He said the property owner rigged a temporary dam to keep runoff water on the property, which overlooks the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Luera said the blaze was deemed under control within about 40 minutes, but firefighters remained on scene for nearly five hours Friday night. They returned briefly Saturday morning when tires stacked near the corner of the building caught fire.

Luera said he understood the property was owned by a concrete company, the name of which he didn't know Sunday. He believed the property owner leased the building that burned to Ideal Trucking.

According to Allegheny County property records, Michael and Richard Dietz have owned the land and an adjacent parcel since at least 1995. Michael Dietz is listed as the president of Ideal Trucking, according to state incorporation records.

A listed number found for Ideal Trucking was not in service and the Dietzes could not be reached for comment. A man identified as a property owner at the scene Friday night declined to talk to a reporter.

A sign on the property's fence advertises Allegheny Concrete Recycling; owner Gary Francis in 2010 told Harmar Supervisors he planned to buy the property from Ideal Trucking, which he said would remain at the site.

A message left for Francis was not returned Sunday.

No one was at the site when a reporter visited Saturday and Sunday.

Liz Hayes is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at [email protected] or 724-226-4680.

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