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A Hooversville firefighter sprays water on debris from the North Star Inn, formerly the Grand Central Hotel, on Friday. The historic hotel, which had been vacant, was destroyed by fire early Friday. Todd Berkey
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Landmark burns: Hooversville hotel had been vacant for years
HOOVERSVILLE — Fire destroyed a vacant hotel in Hooversville early Friday, forcing a man and child to flee a neighboring apartment building.
No one was injured in the fire that erupted at 100 Main St., sending crews from five fire companies to the scene.
The inferno destroyed what was once the marquee Grand Central Hotel, which housed travelers in the early 1900s.
A state police fire marshal is searching for the cause of the 4:30 a.m. blaze that shot flames high into the night sky.
The sound of the fire alarm awoke neighbors, who watched as 40 to 50 firefighters battled the flames.
“When I looked out my bedroom window, I couldn’t believe it was burning that quick,” said neighbor DeWayne “Bum” Berkebile.
“When I looked out, the flames were about 60 to 70 feet in the air.”
The building had been condemned, but the owner, Lorraine Bodziak, was unable to pay for demolition, Hooversville Borough Council President Kenneth Karashowsky said.
“They’ve been warned to take it down,” he said. “It’s unfortunate it came down in this fashion.
“No. 1, it was an eyesore,” he said. “No. 2, we’re concerned about safety. We still have concerns about the cleanup.”
Later on, a PennDOT crew arrived to remove debris from the street as borough firefighters hosed hot spots.
“Within 30 minutes of my call, they were here with a huge payloader to clear debris from the roadway,” Karashowsky said. “We have no such equipment to handle the task.”
A man and 4-year old child were evacuated from the apartment building across the street that once was the Community National Bank.
A family dog was saved but a cat died in the fire.
A Hollsopple firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion.
The fast-moving blaze, which started in the first-floor rear, collapsed the building, said Hooversville fire Chief Jim Karashowsky, Ken’s brother.
“Within 45 minutes from when we got the call, the structure burned to the ground,” he said. “It burned quickly, it collapsed quickly.”
The intense heat melted a white fence and peeled the blue paint from the house next door.
Neighbors said the owner bought the property just a few months ago.
Borough officials are asking residents to conserve water through the weekend because 165,000 gallons of water were used to douse the flames.
“We’re at a critical low level in our storage tank,” Kenneth Karashowsky said. “The water plant will have to treat and pump water continually at least until Sunday to get us back to the normal level.”
Fire crews from Stoystown, Hollsopple, Boswell and Richland Township also responded.
“Without their help, we wouldn’t have been able to take care of it on our own,” he said.
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