W. Rick’s restaurant destroyed in Sunday fire, investigation pending
Watching her dad’s restaurant, W. Rick’s Taproom and Grill, go up in flames Sunday morning, Feb. 18, was sad for Tricia Christy.
An early morning blaze at the business at 269 Meridian Road in Butler Township left it in a likely unsalvageable state, according to Christy, who manages the restaurant.
“It’s a mess,” Christy said. “But we’ll figure it out as we go.”
She said Sunday no one was in the building when the fire was reported at around 2 a.m.
“The building had been vacant for like an hour and a half. Nobody got hurt, that's what I was worried about,” Christy said.
A passerby and family friend first reported seeing flames at the popular eatery, Christy said. Upon learning of the fire, Christy said she went to the restaurant in the early morning hours and saw it burning.
Scott Frederick, chief of Butler Township Volunteer Fire District, said the cause of the fire had not been determined as of Monday. Discussions are underway regarding who will lead the investigation.
The blaze kept firefighters on scene for several hours, Frederick said. Initially, they were dispatched to the restaurant at 2:09 a.m. Sunday and were met with a working fire.
“The kitchen window, the one that faces Meridian Road, there was fire coming out of that. There was fire out of the windows by Hopewell Avenue,” he said.
Smoke also was coming from the roof of the building, he added.
Firefighters got to work spraying water on the flames, but after a half-hour, Frederick said they needed to reassess the situation.
“We pulled everyone out of the building just to see what was going on,” he said. “At that point, it had burned through the roof over the dining room.”
The roof collapsed an hour into the call, according to Frederick.
Weather conditions and the layout of the restaurant added challenges to extinguishing the fire.
“We had to deal with ice conditions. Water would turn to ice as soon as it hit the ground,” he said.
The fire was out by 4:30 a.m., Frederick said. He added a firefighter suffered a minor injury on scene, but was treated by EMS and not taken to a hospital.
Crews cleared the scene at 6:30 a.m.
“When we left, we couldn’t see any hot spots,” Frederick said, referencing the thermal imaging detector used by the department.
About an hour later, they were called back to the scene to take care of two hot spots that rekindled: one in the collapsed roof and one on a kitchen wall.
The dining room and kitchen sustained the most fire damage, according to Frederick, but there also was extensive water and smoke damage to the bar. The patio at the back of the restaurant appeared unaffected.
Christy said the building is being sealed up so no one can get inside.
“The restoration company is up there, putting boards on the windows,” Christy said Sunday. “The insurance adjusters will be there tomorrow.”
Christy said the fire damaged the building to such an extent the business is unable to reopen. The building held a lot of memories for her, so seeing it damaged by fire has left her feeling a lot of uncertainty, she said.
A sale of the restaurant was being discussed, she said. It is owned by her father, W. Rick Reiber.
Connoquenessing Volunteer Fire Company, Penn Township Volunteer Fire Department, Unionville Volunteer Fire Company, Evans City Volunteer Fire Department, Butler Bureau of Fire and VA Butler Fire and Emergency Services also responded.
