DUBOIS – Officials have determined the cause and origin of a fire that destroyed the Perkins Restaurant and Bakery in DuBois last week.
According the report, state police Fire Marshal Mick McCracken and the Sandy Township Fire Department determined that the fire was electrical in nature and originated in the roof truss area above the kitchen.
Officials reported last week that crews were called to Perkins at 12:33 p.m. on April 23. All customers and employees were evacuated safely.
The fire started in the kitchen area and spread to the roof, where it quickly engulfed the structure. A state police fire marshal was called in to help investigate the scene. The building was severely damaged and the fire was ruled accidental in nature.
Nearby restaurant Burger King sustained smoke and heat damage.
A firefighter from Volunteer Hose Company was transported to DuBois Regional Medical Center where he was treated and released. Another firefighter from Oklahoma Fire Company was treated at the scene.
While at Perkins Sandy Township unites were called for three additional alarms that were handled by the staging crew. One alarm at Lowe’s was the result of water pressure dropping due to firemen fighting the Perkins blaze. An alarm at Eat and Park was to get rid of smoke from the building and Arby’s at the DuBois Mall had a fire in an electrical outlet. No damage was reported.
Firefighters were on-scene for about seven hours. State Route 255 was closed for four hours and reopened to traffic at 4:30 p.m. Oklahoma Fire Company was called back out at 8:40 p.m. for a rekindle.
Units on scene included: all Sandy Township Fire Department Units, Volunteer Fire Company, Union and Brady Townships, Falls Creek, Penfield, Brockway, Friendship, Reynoldsville, Fourth Ward, Clearfield, Sykesville, JE DuBois and Big Run.
Others responding to the scene included: Punxsutawney-based state police fire marshal, Sandy Township Police Department, DuBois Red Cross, B&P Railroad, DuSan Ambulance, DuBois EMS ambulance, National Fuel Gas, Penelec, PennDOT, Sandy Township Public Works, state Rep. Matt Gabler’s office, Sandy Township and Clearfield County Emergency Management Agencies, DuBois City Water Department and Ellenberger Excavation.