One Blair County business was completely engulfed in flames Monday morning; residents could see smoke from miles away.

 

All that’s left now are the smoldering remains of the cabinet manufacturer. 

 

“These scenes are… anything can happen here,” said Hollidaysburg EMT Paul Fennessey. “So that’s why we’re here.”

 

Crews from all over Blair County were called out to fight the fire at Fine-Line Cabinets, Inc. in Frankstown Township.  At least 50 first responders were on scene to battle the blaze.  Crews in Bedford County were also on standby. 

 

“It was a massive structure and I know there were a lot of cabinets inside,” Fennessey said.

 

“The building is loaded with OSP board and saw dust from the machinery,” said Geeseytown Community Fire Company Assistant Chief Denny Estep.

 

For more than three hours, crews were non-stop flooding the building with water. 

 

“The roof is metal so it collapsed in on itself,” Estep said, “so we’re getting that out of the way so we can get water on the fire.”

 

EMTs from Hollidaysburg arrived for backup.  Although none of the employees were in the building at the time, crews were worried about those fighting the fire.  The bigger the fire, the bigger the risk for firefighters. 

 

“You never know what’s going to happen at a fire scene,” Fennessey said. “Somebody could get hurt by fires or by fire truck.  Anything minor can happen.”

 

Fennessey said fighting a large structure fire looks a lot like organized chaos.  On a warm day with a massive, hot fire, he was worred about crews getting dehydrated.

 

“I think it went very well,” Fennessey said. “Nobody was hurt. Everybody seemed to know what they were doing and put the fire out quickly.”

 

There is no word yet on what caused the fire.  The building is a complete loss.