Garden Center With 63 Years Of Memories Goes Up In Flames
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LEMONT FURNACE (KDKA) -- Flames and black smoke filled in the air in Fayette County on Sunday morning as fire roared through a garden center.
The main building at the Cellurale Garden Center in Lemont Furnace was quickly engulfed by a huge ball of flames. At least fifty firefighters from Dunbar and surrounding communities spent hours battling the fire.
When it was over, the building – which contained 63 years of memories for the family-owned business – was destroyed.
"The biggest thing is the memories lost," Jim Cellurale said. "The building's the building, but what transpired inside is the biggest loss."
While the fire dealt a major blow to the garden center, Cellurale praised firefighters for doing a good job saving the rest of the business.
"The way they fought the fire— they actually came in from the back because the building was actually too far gone, and they wanted to save the greenhouses," he said.
Cellurale says most of their chrysanthemums were already delivered to customers, but he says several hundred plants were destroyed.
He's just glad no one was hurt.
"Everyone was safe," he said. "We have a lot of family that lives around the property, and everyone was safe and sound. That's the biggest thing. We'll rebuild."
While the main building was destroyed and one of the greenhouses heavily damaged, the other greenhouses were untouched by the fire. The family also operates a Christmas tree farm and plans to be up and running by the holidays.
