Published: January 26, 2009 02:15 pm      

Fire destroys 2 businesses in Stonycreek Twp.

Firefighters from 22 companies battled intense flames, frozen hoses and thick black smoke from thousands of tires as they tried to save two suburban Johnstown businesses early Sunday.

But the three-alarm blaze proved too much to handle, nearly leveling Carmen’s Wholesale Tires and Dorothy’s Plants in the 1800 block of Bedford Street, Stonycreek Township.

By Sunday night, exhausted crews – who earlier were forced to rescue one of their own from the burning building – still were attempting to douse smoldering hot spots.

A state police fire marshal is expected to examine the scene today.

“We made every effort to stop that fire and save some of the building, but the fire was just too intense,” said Jeffrey Lees, Oakland Volunteer Fire Company deputy chief.

Carmen’s, which had operated at the corner of Bedford and Penrod streets since 1967, sits just a stone’s throw away from Oakland’s fire station.

But the flames had a big head start.

“Police were on scene almost instantly, and the building was fully involved with fire at that time,” Lees said.

Firefighters were dispatched just after 4 a.m. Less than a half-hour later, a second and third alarm had sounded, bringing volunteers from Cambria and Somerset counties.

But crews were dealing with multiple issues, including single-digit temperatures wreaking havoc on fire-fighting efforts.

“We had problems with hydrants freezing, we had hoses freezing up,” Lees said.

Nearby residences also were a big concern as the fire raged. Three homes were evacuated, and the volunteers scrambled to spray foam on the structures to prevent flames from spreading.

None of the houses was damaged, Lees said.

And then there was the burning business itself, with an estimated 20,000 tires inside. That included a loft area that ran from one end of the building to the other: That entire space was “packed with tires,” Lees said.

As firefighters attempted to preserve a portion of the structure, crews were cutting a hole in the roof.

That’s when catastrophe nearly struck.

“The roof started to cave in,” Lees said. “We had one firefighter fall through.”

To make matters worse, Richland volunteer Ethan Kabler was trapped inside a burning building with an air pack that was not working properly.

The firefighting effort quickly became a rescue mission.

“He ran out of air,” Lees said.

“They had to lower a self-contained breathing apparatus through a hole in the roof so he could receive fresh air.”

Kabler was successfully rescued, treated at Memorial Medical Center and later released.

“We were very fortunate,” Lees said.

Bedford Street remained closed Sunday evening from Bentwood Avenue to the area of the Route 56 expressway entrance ramp. Also, a portion of Penrod Street was off-limits for drivers.

Lees said those closures are expected to remain in effect this morning, and he advised motorists to avoid the area.

As investigators work in the coming days to determine what caused the blaze, Carmen Germana and his family will assess the future of their longtime business.

Germana, 75, started Carmen’s in the city’s Hornerstown section in 1960. He moved up the hill to the busy Stonycreek Township intersection seven years later.

He said Dorothy’s Plants moved into the same complex in 1985, and Carmen’s has continued to expand.

“This is my life’s work,” said Germana, who added that his son, daughter and son-in-law have taken over much of the tire business.

On Sunday, it was too early to tell what the future of Carmen’s might be. He said the structure was insured but added that “insurance doesn’t cover everything.”

Despite tire prices jumping by about 40 percent last year, Germana said, business had been good.

“Now, I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said.