On Thursday, May 13, 2004 at approximately 12:30 p.m. Butler County 9-1-1 Center received a call from an alarm monitoring company, reporting a commercial fire alarm activation for Friedman’s grocery store, located at 270 W. Water Street in Saxonburg. Butler County 9-1-1 Center dispatched Saxonburg (Station 15), Buffalo Township (Station 27) and Saxonburg EMS on the initial alarm.

As the initial companies were being dispatched, an employee from Friedman’s grocery store called 9-1-1 to report that there is a confirmed fire in the rear portion of the store, in the electrical room. The employee advised 9-1-1 that shortly before they discovered the fire, the lights in the store flickered, followed by exploding sounds from the electrical room. The employee advised 9-1-1 that there were approximately 40 employees and 45 customers in the store, and they were in the process of evacuating. Butler County 9-1-1 Center updated the responding units with the report from the store.

First arriving units reported smoke showing from the C-D side of a 300’x100’ one-story concrete block grocery store. Command requested an immediate 2nd alarm assignment. Butler County 9-1-1 dispatched Sarver (Station 36), Middlesex Township (Station 16), Herman (Station 10), Winfield Township (Station 46), Penn Township (Station 11), Butler City for their Aerial and Cranberry Township (Station 21) for their R.I.T. Team.

Crews advanced attack lines through the front of the store. Interior crews reported heavy fire and smoke conditions in the rear portion of the store. As initial interior crews began attacking the fire, additional crews loaded numerous 18-pound propane tanks, which were stored in the front of the store, into shopping carts and pushed them out into the parking lot, well away from the structure. Saxonburg Ladder 15 was set up for aerial operations on side D. Upon arriving on the scene, Middlesex Ladder 16 was set up for aerial operations on side A and Butler City Truck 1 was set up for aerial operations on side B. Crews from the 2nd alarm companies advanced hose lines into the structure to assist the initial interior crews attacking the fire.

Interior crews advised command that the fire was spreading quickly, and that crews were encountering very intense heat and very heavy smoke conditions. Exterior crews worked to ventilate the concrete roof in an effort to alleviate the heat and smoke conditions that the interior crews were encountering. As the blades of their saws cut through the concrete roof, the roof crew discovered that there was another roof under the main roof. The 44-year-old building had under gone its 5th renovation five years ago, when a 3,000 square foot addition was built. The numerous renovations which yielded a roof on top of a roof and false ceilings throughout the store, created numerous void spaces, which allowed the fire to rapidly spread throughout the structure.

Command requested several additional alarms for manpower due to the magnitude of the fire and due to temperatures in the 80’s and near 100% humidity, which was taking a tool on the firefighters. Command also requested multiple tankers on the additional alarm assignments for water supply, due to limited hydrants in the immediate area. The additional alarms also brought two additional aerial apparatus from Lyndora (Station 4). Interior crews advised command that conditions were rapidly deteriorating, as the fire, heat and smoke conditions were intensifying. Command ordered all crews out of the structure shortly after 1:00 p.m. Once all crews were out of the structure and accounted for, a defensive attack was initiated. Several attack lines and portable deck guns were put into operation. Even though the aerials were in position and raised, the aerial master streams were not immediately put into operation, as the water streams would not be able penetrate the double roof and reach the heavy volume of fire within the structure.

Firefighters removed louvered vents from side D and forced open several steel doors on sides B and D, so that they could attempt to get water on the fire. Shortly after 2:00 p.m. a small portion of the roof on the C-D corner of the structure had collapsed, allowing the fire to vent and allowing an access point for firefighters to get water on the fire, utilizing aerial master streams from Saxonburg Ladder 15 and Butler City Truck 1. Approximately 2 hours into the incident, firefighters started to experience water problems. Due to the copious amounts of water that was being used to battle the intense blaze, the borough’s two water tanks that hold a total of 650,000 gallons of water, were almost dry. With the water supply drastically low, command had to utilize multiple Tankers from numerous fire companies to shuttle water to the scene, to keep the master streams, deck guns and attack lines supplied.

The following Tankers assisted with the water shuttle operations; Buffalo Township (Engine 27-2), Herman (Tankers 10-1 and 10-2), Oneida Valley (Oakland Township Tanker 35), Lick Hill (Tankers 8-1 and 8-2), East Butler (Tanker 9), Evans City (Tanker 20), Penn Township (Tanker 11-2), Valencia (Tanker 17), Zelienople (Engine 22-2), Meridian (Tanker 3), Sarver (Tanker 36), Winfield Township (Tanker 46), West Deer Township #1 (Tanker 288), West Deer Township #2 (Tanker 289), West Deer Township #3 (Tanker 290) and Richland Township (Tanker 241). In addition to drafting from several nearby ponds, the Tankers traveled repeatedly to neighboring Winfield Township to tap into the hydrants to refill their tanks. Once refilled, the Tankers returned to the fire scene and filled up the portable dump tanks, which were set up on the A-B corner of the structure and the B-C corner of the structure. While heading to the Saxonburg fire scene, Lick Hill Tanker 8-1, which was being operated by Lick Hill Fire Chief Clair Gold, collided with a pickup truck at the intersection of Freeport Road and Center Avenue in Butler Township. Neither Chief Gold nor the operator of the pickup truck were injured in the crash, however a passenger in the pickup truck sustained a minor shoulder and head injury, but refused medical attention. Both vehicles had to be towed from the scene.

Chief 21-2 Dan Owens, who was assigned to R.I.T. Command, requested additional R.I.T. Teams to the scene for manpower. Marshall Township (Station 185), Zelienople (Rescue 22), Callery (Engine 19) and Evans City (Engine 20) all responded to the scene with additional R.I.T. Team personnel. Nearly 3 hours into the incident, firefighters were still having difficulty accessing the main body of fire, as conditions within the store made it too dangerous to attempt to send crews back inside and crews were still having difficulty trying to open up the two roofs to get to the fire. Command opted to utilize a backhoe, which belongs to the borough of Saxonburg, to breech the concrete block wall of the structure in efforts to expose the fire, so that the fatigued firefighters can darken the flames and put an end to the battle that they have been fighting for several hours.
The backhoe was moved into position on side D of the structure at approximately 3:30 p.m. Under the direction of Saxonburg Fire Chief Gary Cooper, the backhoe operator knocked a gaping 7’ x 6’ hole in the concrete block wall on side D of the structure.

Immediately after the wall was breeched, firefighters placed a portable deck gun in front of the opening and turned it on, allowing the water to shoot inside the store. Less than 10 minutes following the breech of the wall, heavy dark brown smoke began pouring out of one of the forced open doors on the A-B corner of the structure. The dark brown smoke also began seeping from the concrete blocks, just below the eaves on the A-B corner of the structure. Within minutes, the dark brown smoke changed to a dark gray colored smoke and began to mushroom from the roof of the structure, completely blanketing the extended aerial ladders.

As the dark gray smoke continued to intensify as it billowed from the roof of the structure, it became obvious that the stubborn fire was being fueled by the oxygen from the breeched wall, allowing the fire to rage out of control as it consumed all the combustible materials in its path. Once fueled, the fire raced from the rear of the store to the front of the store in a matter of minutes. Orange colored smoke began seeping from the eaves above a large metal awning on side A of the structure. With the aid of a pike pole, a Fire Chief from a neighboring company broke out several large windows directly under the metal awning on side A, to expose the fire in the front portion of the store.

Firefighters utilizing a portable deck gun and the master stream from Middlesex Township Ladder 16 began pouring water on the raging flames through the shattered front windows. Moments after the front windows were shattered, the large metal awning and a small portion of the front wall came crashing to the ground. Fortunately none of the firefighters operating in the area were injured. Following the collapse of the awning, heavy black smoke billowed from the entire roof of the structure. The mushroom like cloud of black smoke that billowed from the structure completely darkened out the afternoon sun. The severely weakened roof of the structure totally collapsed shortly after 4:00 p.m. The roof collapse finally gave the fatigued firefighters what they wanted, access to the fire.

With the collapse of the roof, all five aerial master streams were put into operation to drown the intense fire that continued to rage within the structure. Tanker shuttle operations became more and more frequent, as the aerial master streams were using the water supply at a much faster rate than the attack lines did. Approximately 90 minutes after all five aerial master streams were put into operation, the bulk of the flames had been darkened. Command declared the fire under control nearly 6 hours after it began, however command advised Butler County 9-1-1 Center that crews would be remaining on the scene throughout the night, to douse hot spots. Command began releasing the R.I.T. Teams and other units from the scene shortly after 7:00 p.m. A few of the Tankers remained on the scene for additional water shuttles until approximately 10:00 p.m.

Friedman’s grocery store is a family owned business that was founded in 1900. Currently there are 7 Friedman’s grocery stores, 6 of them are located throughout Butler County and the other is located in Morgantown, West Virginia. The Saxonburg store had 62 employees. The employees of the Saxonburg store will be reassigned to the remaining 5 stores in Butler County. Once the investigation into the cause of the fire is completed, the grocery store chain is planning on building a new store at the at the Saxonburg location. This marks the fourth fire to hit the Friedman’s grocery store chain in its 104-year history. Fire caused an estimated $8,000 in damages to the Friedman’s store on W. Jefferson Street in June 1922. Fire started in the back room of the Friedman’s store on Brady Street on May 14, 1988. The fire caused an estimated $1.2 million in damages and the store had to be rebuilt. Fire started in the back room of the Friedman’s store at the intersection of N. Main Street Extension and Mercer Road on March 2, 2002. The fire caused an estimated $3.5 million in damages and the store had to be rebuilt. Then the latest fire occurred at the Friedman’s store in Saxonburg.

Over 100 firefighters from 30 fire departments, from Butler, Allegheny and Armstrong Counties responded to battle the stubborn blaze. Several other fire departments were on standby at various empty fire stations throughout Butler County, while the other departments were committed at the fire scene. The following fire departments battled the blaze; Saxonburg (Station 15), Penn Township (Station 11), Herman (Station 10), Valencia (Station 17), Evans City (Station 20), Buffalo Township (Station 27), Meridian (Station 3), Oakland Township (Station 35), Sarver (Station 36), Lyndora (Station 4), Winfield Township (Station 46), Greenwood Village (Station 5), South Butler (Station 7), Lick Hill (Station 8), East Butler (Station 9), Butler City (Station 1), Cranberry Township (Station 21), Callery (Station 19), Zelienople (Station 22), Freeport (Station 70), South Buffalo (Station 220), Kittanning, West Deer Township #1 (Station 288), West Deer Township #2 (Station 289), West Deer Township #3 (Station 290), Richland Township (Station 241), Citizens Hose (Station 167), Harrison Hills (Station 169), Eureka (Station 281) and Marshall Township (Station 185). The departments on standby included; Callery (Station 19), Mars (Station 18), Zelienople (Station 22), Worthington (Station 250), Elfinwild (Station 261) and Big Knob (Station 26). Saxonburg Police, along with Butler County Fire Police Association and Millvale Fire Police handled traffic control at and around the fire scene.

Several members of the Butler Safety Council set up large canopy tents in the parking lot, to act as a rehab area for the emergency personnel. Chairs were set up under the tents for the fatigued firefighters to sit and rest. Several fans were also set up around the tents to help cool the firefighters down. The members of the Butler Safety Council also distributed cold drinks and food, which had been donated by various people and businesses, to the firefighters. Personnel from the American Red Cross Butler region were also at the scene distributing cold drinks and cold wet towels to the firefighters. The Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshal is investigating the blaze, which totally destroyed the building and caused an estimated $4.5 million in damages. The last Saxonburg fire unit cleared from the scene at 7:15 a.m. Friday, May 14, 2004.