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Fire damages Canton business
The fire was raging at PennPro Manufacturing at 1000 Sheffield St. when Canton Township fire Chief Dave Gump pulled up early Friday.
"It was the first time I've ever seen a steel building on fire," said Gump, a longtime member of the volunteer fire company. "It was pretty awesome."
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"A Washington police officer was first on the scene and reported the building fully involved in fire," Gump said. "When I turned onto Sheffield, I figured we were going to be here for awhile.
"Initially, the fire fight was all defensive at first because I didn't want to send anyone inside the building," he added. "But we knocked the fire down pretty quickly."
The owner of PennPro, Dennis Kopcha, told Gump that 236,000 pounds of finished recycled material, some made from cornstalks and some from gypsum, were on the loading dock, ready to be shipped. The fire consumed much of the finished product. The recycled cornstalks are used in industrial grass-seeding projects for construction sites.
"We got the backhoe from the township and started pulling down the outside wall," Gump said. "Dave Hildebrand, assistant Claysville fire chief, was inside on the company's tractor pushing the burning material out to us.
"We spread out the material and put water on it," Gump added. "It was the only way to get the fire out."
The fire had likely been burning for quite some time before it was discovered.
Trooper Steven Thompson, a state police fire marshal, said the cause of the fire remains under investigation. He said the fire started inside the building near the loading dock area. Kopcha told Gump that he turns off the electricity when he leaves the building every night. Thompson said the electric box was in the off position.
Gump said there were also three large explosions as firefighters fought the flames. He said that two drums containing remnants of hydraulic fluid and propane tanks used for tow motors appear to have exploded.
Firefighters from Washington, Claysville and North Franklin Township assisted at the scene.
"I really appreciate the way those guys came in to help us," Gump said. "Without their assistance, this would have been much more difficult."
Also assisting at the scene was the Rapid Intervention Team 64, made up of firefighters from North Strabane and Peters townships.
Gump said his department has been called to the plant several times in the past for fires caused by different aspects of the manufacturing process.
Kopcha, of North Strabane Township, was fined by Washington officials after several fires at the plant's former location on Wallace Lane last October. Kopcha went to court in December before Senior District Judge Marjorie Teagarden and was given a six-month continuance on the fines. Another hearing is set for June 8.
Kopcha filed as an individual for federal bankruptcy protection on April 30.
Anyone who might have seen suspicious activity in the area or has information about the fire is asked to call the state police fire marshal unit at 724-223-5200.
