JESSUP, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A building housing a former pizza shop will have to come down after an early morning fire in Lackawanna County.
The fire broke out at the Library Pizza Bar on Church and Powell Street around 3:30 Friday morning.
The building had vacant business space on the first floor and a vacant upstairs apartment.
Neighbors like George Howanitz say the business closed a couple of years ago, but it stayed important to the community.
“It’s a landmark. Anybody looking for directions, you’d always say ‘go past the Library, turn at the Library,’ so it’s going to be missed.”
Nearly a dozen fire agencies responded to the early morning fire.
The Jessup Fire Chief Jim Anderson says it took them about two hours to knock the flames down. Saying they did not have firefighters battling inside because the building was unstable.
“Making sure everybody’s in a safe spot. Make sure we have all the resources we need to get it done and just not really encounter many problems along the way.”
A state police fire marshal was called to investigate the fire, while neighbors watching the devastation from the morning, reflected on the building’s history.
“Everybody had some kind of comment about the building, ‘I remember when it previously, years and years ago, it was an appliance store and then in between I don’t know, but then it became the library and it’s been that since,” said Howanitz.
Road closures are still in place surrounding Church and Powell Street as crews are waiting for an excavator to come in and demolish the building.
The building is a total loss with the roof caved in. A fire marshal is investigating the cause.
