November 26, 2011 – Working Commercial Fire X2 (Buffet House)

November 26, 2011 – As all Schuylkill Haven units were working the previous structure fire in Cressona, at 22:59 SCCC advised of a 2ND CALL TO DISTRICT for a commercial fire located at 1478 Route 61 (The Buffet House Chinese Restaurant – Formerly the River Inn). P-6 (Sibbett) was in the area at the time of the call and setup command at the A/D corner. P-6 then advised of heavy smoke pushing from all of the eves of the building and requested a 2nd alarm. Several units being released from the previous call including Ladder 519 were immediately re-directed to the scene. Multiple units who were also on stand-by in the borough of Schuylkill Haven filled the assignment in place of the SHFD. E-733 was released from Cressona to also assist. Crews that arrived on scene first immediately made entry to the structure and found the bulk of the fire load to be located in the basement. Conditions started to deteriorate rapidly including a partial collapse of the 1st floor and all units were forced to evacuate. At this point, P-6 ordered all operations defensive. Master streams were then established on all 4 corners of the structure. Multiple Chiefs assisted P-6 with operations throughout the remainder of the morning (Chief 722, Chief 723, 56-02, Chief 53, Chef 511) as crews re-entered the structure for overhaul. Fire personnel remained on scene for approximately 8 hours until being released. *Photos via Mark Krammes*