Fire & Theft At Armstrong Co. Tavern & Bowling Alley Under Investigation
VALLEY TOWNSHIP (KDKA)- Firefighters had their hands full while trying to get a handle on a big fire in Armstrong County Tuesday morning.
According to officials at the scene, the fire started around 3:30 a.m. at Greendale Tavern and Lanes on Route 85 in Valley Township, just outside of Kittanning.
Ten different fire companies were called to the scene. The business was fully engulfed when crews arrived. The roof of the tavern and bowling alley collapsed shortly after crews arrived.
The fire chief told KDKA's Heather Abraham that they had to go into a defensive attack and water was an issue. He said there were only a few hydrants in the area and they had to shuttle a tanker truck to a nearby creek for extra water.
"Fire was going through the roof, through the whole entire building," Rural Valley Volunteer Fire Department Chief Kevin Nelson said. "There was no way you were going into that."
The Greendale Tavern and Lanes closed around 2 a.m. and no one was inside the building at the time of the fire.
The cause is under investigation.
Earlier in the evening, State Police were called to the business for a theft around 10:45 p.m.
A masked man entered the restaurant's dining room, which was empty. The man allegedly stole a cash register containing about $600.
The owner left the establishment around 1 a.m. after reporting the theft to police.
However, the fire and theft are being investigated as two separate incidents, but police want to question the masked man.
"We're checking to see if the theft is related to the fire or if it's a totally unrelated incident. We don't know that at this point. If we can identify the person who took the cash register, he would definitely be a person to talk to about this fire, if he has anything to do with it. Maybe not," Trooper Terry Geibel said.
The owner has surveillance video on his phone, which police are using in their investigation.
UPDATE: Nov. 26, 2014 --
On Wednesday, police released surveillance images of the masked man who entered the Greendale Tavern and Lanes and stole the cash register.
Not long after that, the business caught fire, and burned to the ground.
For now, state police are investigating the burglary and fire as separate incidents.
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