Haley Daugherty
The Tribune-Review, Greensburg
(TNS)
Apr. 6—A historic building in downtown Mt. Pleasant has been condemned after being gutted Wednesday afternoon by a fire.
When the blaze started at McCali Manor, Leon Mowry II, owner of Saloom Department Store, headed next door to DePalma Flooring to warn Pam DePalma and others inside to move their cars for fire trucks to get through.
"By the time I got from here to the bank and back, the whole roof was engulfed in flames," DePalma said.
DePalma's 7-year-old niece and 6-year-old nephew were with her. They watched emergency crews battle the fire through the storefront's glass window while she stood on the sidewalk and watched the roof of the building cave in.
"It's just so sad," DePalma said, "(Mt. Pleasant) has a family appeal as a town. It's just so sad to see the building go."
Mowry and DePalma both said they hope the building can be reconstructed. The building is on the northeast corner of the center of the downtown, where the centerpiece is a statue of a World War I doughboy.
"I'd like to see it rebuilt," Mowry said. "I don't want to see a loss of business for anyone. I'd like to see someone come in and start fresh again or fix up what's there."
"It would be nice if they could rebuild something, but, if they decide not to rebuild, a parking lot would be nice," DePalma said. "That is one thing that's hard here, parking."
Nobody was inside the building at the time of the fire. Borough Councilman Rico Cholock said the seven occupants of the building were moved to a hotel the night of the fire. Mt. Pleasant Mayor Diane Bailey said the American Red Cross has been contacted to help the those displaced by the fire.
"It's a tiny community, but we try to help each other as much as we can," Bailey said.
Bailey commended the efforts of the Mt. Pleasant fire department and the neighboring departments, as well.
"My heart just sank when I heard that it was that building on fire," Bailey said. "When we saw the flames, we knew it was gone. Our fire department did an awesome job. So did our neighboring companies."
Bailey said the building officially was condemned and there are no plans for the property's future use. The building is blocked with caution tape, and barriers block the parking spots out front.
"That building has been there since before I was a kid," Mowry said. "A loss of business is hurtful to any business in town. I hate seeing anything like that happen to anybody."
Jane Altman, who owns the building, was not available for comment on Thursday.
Haley Daugherty is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Haley at 724-850-1203 or [email protected].
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