FRANKLIN TWP — An electrical fire closed, but did not significantly damage the interior of the Trader Horn store along Route 422 Saturday morning.

The store is expected to reopen once the electricity is turned back on, said Pat Green, the store’s operations manager.

Prospect Fire Chief Frank Wilson said the fire started in the front corner of the hardware store about 10 a.m. and spread up the wall and back the second floor ceiling and roof.

Wilson said most of the merchandise on the first floor was not badly damaged by the flames, but said there was some water damage.

Green said the building’s second, underlying flat roof prevented more damage from occurring.

“That saved all the stuff in the store,” Green said.

He said the upstairs was used for storage.

“There’s a lot of inventory in there,” Green said.

He said the store, which employs roughly 20 people, could reopen before repairs are made to the roof.

Wilson estimated the damage to the building at more than $50,000, but said it was repairable.

“I’d say it is, but it’ll need extensive repairs,” he said. The building is insured.

As of this morning, Green was awaiting an official damage estimate from the insurer.

Wilson said the exact cause of the fire is unknown beyond it being electrical in nature.

“It’s definitely electric,” Wilson said at the scene. “But I don’t know how it started.”

A transformer box on a utility pole beside the building was also burned.

Wilson said there were five employees in the store at the time of the fire but no customers. No one was injured.

Wilson said about 50 firefighters responded to the scene.

Units from Prospect, Portersville, Unionville, Connoquenessing, Slippery Rock, Butler Township Fire District 3, Mercer Road, Lick Hill and Princeton (Lawrence County) volunteer fire departments responded to the scene. The Butler Fire Department also assisted by sending a ladder truck.

Crews had to wait several minutes for West Penn Power to shut off electric service before they could begin fighting the fire.

“The electric was still live (when we arrived),” he said. After the power was shut off, firefighters were able to stop the flames in about 25 minutes, Wilson said.

The commotion shut down the westbound lane of Route 422 for more than an hour. Traffic was detoured through the center lane.

The building was the original Trader Horn built in Butler County in 1958. Trader Horn is now headquartered in Penn Township and has eight stores across Western Pennsylvania.

Eagle staff writer Tom Victoria contributed to this report.