Cause of W. Rick’s fire undetermined, investigation pending
The cause of the fire that severely damaged W. Rick’s Taproom and Grill in Butler Township has not yet been determined, officials said Monday, Feb. 19.
The blaze resulted in the roof’s collapse early Sunday morning and kept firefighters on scene for several hours, according to Scott Frederick, chief of Butler Township Volunteer Fire District.
Discussions are underway regarding who will lead the fire investigation, Frederick said, as both state police and Butler Township police were notified.
Crews were dispatched to the restaurant at 2:09 a.m. Sunday and were met with extreme working fire conditions, according to Frederick.
“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 was also coming from the roof of the building, he added.
Firefighters got to work spraying water on the flames, but after half an 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 a challenge 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, and crews cleared the scene at 6:30 a.m.
“When we left, we couldn’t see any hot spots,” he 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.
A firefighter suffered a minor injury on scene, but was treated by EMS and not taken to the hospital, Frederick said.
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 to the scene.
