Pa. Textile Factory Building Goes up in Flames

Aug. 13, 2013
The structure collapsed within two minutes after firefighters arrived.

Aug. 13--Dozens of firetrucks and firefighters responded to a two-alarm blaze late Monday at a complex of textile buildings in Perry Township.

There were no injuries.

The fire was reported about 10:45 p.m. at Wolfe Dye and Bleach Works Inc. along Ridge Road outside of Shoemakersville in the township.

The building that was burning was a processing and finishing building on the south side of Ridge Road, said a Wolfe employee on the scene.

Most of the buildings in the complex are on the north side of the road.

A second-shift supervisor on the scene who asked not to be identified said: "I just saw flames. I was just up there and it was a total loss.

"We've had smaller fires, but nothing like this. ...

"The building's been shut down since 5 o'clock in the afternoon."

The structure that burned is made up of two connected buildings, said Chief Dennis Wagner of the Shoemakersville Fire Company.

He said one of them collapsed within two minutes of firefighters' arrival.

The fire was extinguished in about 25 to 30 minutes, he said.

"It's a loss right now," Wagner said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Copyright 2013 - Reading Eagle, Pa.

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