Pocono News Section

Fire Devastates Shamokin Business

Fire Devastates Shamokin Business - Saturday, October 31, 2009 at 10:30PM EST

Reported by: Mark Hiller
Saturday, Oct 31, 2009 @ 10:30pm EDT
SHAMOKIN, NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY - A state police fire marshal is investigating a devastating fire at a Shamokin business that's been around since the 1950s.

Al Keefer spent Saturday afternoon checking out the fire damage to his business at A&G Towing on Bear Valley Avenue.

The fire started Friday night around 9:30. He says he left there about 15-minutes earlier and was home a few blocks away when it happened. "A friend of mine called and said I think your garage is on fire and about the time I got my shoes on and got out the door, it was just a ball of flames, I mean it went up that quick, it wasn't funny," said Keefer.

His wife provided Eyewitness News pictures of the burning garage that quickly became an inferno. She didn't want to speak on camera, but the couple's daughter talked about the fierce fire. "It was a nightmare. It was an outrage. It was just gone before you knew it," said Alicia Keefer.

She raced to the fire scene last night and had to fight back the tears. "I just wanted to cry. I just thought to myself everything he's ever worked for... he, he doesn't deserve it," she added.

Gone with the garage, nearly a dozen vehicles. "One of my Rollbacks went up, and a '64 Mustang, a '68 GTO, some Trans Ams," said the owner.

The fire was so intense it melted siding on a house across the street.

And as a state police fire marshal sifted through the ruins Saturday afternoon to investigate, Keefer says he's hearing rumors. "There's accusations going around already, 'Oh I set the fire da duh da duh da. It's like, whatever, I don't even care.'

Keefer says those rumors are fueled by his feud with Anthracite Towing. He filed a complaint against District Judge John Gembic claiming it's a conflict of interest for Gembic to own the business.

But now Keefer says his focus is on getting his own business back up and running. "See what happens. It's all I can do at this point."

Keefer told Eyewitness News that he plans to rebuild. He also says he has insurance but doesn't know if it will cover all of his losses.