Pocono News Section

Fire Heavily Damages Waymart Business

Fire Heavily Damages Waymart Business - Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 5:50PM EST

Reported by: Eyewitness News
Tuesday, Jan 19, 2010 @ 05:50pm EST
CANAAN TWP., WAYNE COUNTY -- Flames broke out at Knecht's General Contracting just after noon. The business is located on Tuthill Road in Canaan Township. That's near Waymart.

The owners of the business say itÕs too early to know exactly how much monetary damage the fire did. Despite the blaze though, the family says they're still going to try and fill all of the orders that customers had.

Smoke poured from Knecht's General Contracting in Waymart Tuesday afternoon. Co-owners Jodi and Tim Knecht were at lunch when they got news their business was on fire.

ÒWhen we first got the call, I thought yeah, little fire, no big deal and when we pulled out of the restaurant -- we looked over this way for a mile and you could see smoke and I knew it was big," said Jodi.

Knecht's was known for making custom modular homes as well as steel and post-frame buildings. The building that burned was the family's main facility, which stored everything that the workers would use.

ÒA lot of tools, a lot of mechanical tools, welders, compressors, a lot of building supplies...just lots," said Tim Knecht.

Firefighters from across Wayne County responded to the blaze. They battled icy road conditions and a constant drizzle.

For the Knecht family, they're more worried about their workers. During their busy season, which isn't for a few months, they employ about ten people. ÒWe're a family-run business, most of the guys that worked for us were family related somehow," said Tim.

Despite the flames, The Knecht's say they plan to move forward for their customers. They have many jobs that still have to be done.

ÒWe are going to carry through on our job commitments. It may slow us down a little big but anything we had going or coming up, we're going to keep our commitments and work through as best we can,Ó said Jodi.

The good thing is no one was hurt in the fire. The exact cause of the blaze is still under investigation.