VERNON TOWNSHIP —
The remnant of a historic Vernon Township building destroyed in a fire on Feb. 5 is scheduled to come down Tuesday.
Demolition of the building at 11949 Pennsylvania Ave. has been scheduled from 10 to 11 a.m. by Vernon Township officials because of concerns the heavily burned structure will fall into the nearby street.
The building’s removal means a temporary road closing and detour from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, according to Chief Randy Detzel of Vernon Township Police.
Route 102/Pennsylvania Avenue will be closed to northbound through-traffic between the intersection with Route 322 and Mercer Street for the one-hour period, Detzel said.
Northbound traffic on Route 102/Pennsylvania Avenue will be permitted for those traveling to local businesses and industries in the area and local residences.
Southbound traffic on Route 102 will be detoured onto the Mercer Street Bridge, Detzel said.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is placing message boards in the area to remind motorists of the detour, Detzel said. Vernon police also will have officers in the areas of the detour during the demolition period.
The cause of the building fire was ruled undetermined by a Pennsylvania State Police fire marshal.
The two-story building, dating from the late 1800s, was unoccupied and had been used for storage of antiques and other items in recent years. There were no utility services connected to the building.
Detzel said he theorizes the fire may have had a human cause — either accidentally or deliberately — because of the lack of utility service.
The fire was discovered at 7:20 a.m. Feb. 5 by a passerby and was fought by eight area fire companies. There were no injuries in the blaze, but the intersection at Mercer Street, Route 102/Pennsylvania Avenue and Cussewago Road, was closed for more than two hours that morning as firemen got the blaze under control.
Detzel has asked for the public’s help for any additional information, but has only received one call. Vernon police still are working on potential leads in the case, he said.
At a special meeting Feb. 10, township supervisors voted to hire Kebort Construction Co. of Meadville to tear down the building.
Demolition is estimated to cost the township $10,000 to $15,000, according to David Stone, township manager. A lien will be placed on the property to recoup costs from the property owner, Joyce Spontarelli of Rockdale Township, Stone said.
Local historian Sandy Porter said the structure was probably built sometime around the 1870s or 1880s. The property was primarily used as a grocery store in the decades following, he said. An undated, black-and-white photograph Porter pulled from historic archives shows two signs on the building: “Winter and Forbes” above its entry, and “C. Houser Groceries and Provisions” on its side.
Keith Gushard can be reached at 724-6370 or by email at kgushard@meadvilletribune.com.
Breakout
Persons with any information about the Feb. 5 fire at 11949 Pennsylvania Ave. are asked to contact Vernon Township Police at 333-6309 or through the Crawford County 911 Center’s non-emergency number 724-2545.
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Demolition of historic Vernon building set for Tuesday
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