Smoke from a fire filled several stores at a Mt. Lebanon shopping center just after midnight Monday morning.
The fire at Virginia Manor Shops at Greentree and Cochran roads was reported around 12:30 a.m., an Allegheny County emergency dispatcher said.
The Allegheny County Fire Marshal determined that a delivery truck hit a dumpster, dragging it into gas and electrical meters and igniting the fire, a county spokeswoman said. It’s been classified as accidental.
No injuries were reported.
Two of the natural gas meters servicing businesses in the plaza were destroyed and others were damaged, said Barry Kukovich, a spokesman for People’s Natural Gas.
“We’ll be working there throughout the day doing repairs on it,” he said.
Despite the damage, no customers, including the businesses, lost gas service, Kukovich said.
Here's a look at firefighters checking out a gas meter fire at the Virginia Manor Shops in Mount Lebanon. I'm checking to see what this will mean for any businesses still operating in this plaza for @WPXI at 5 AM. pic.twitter.com/8cXiNeiS9F
— WPXIJennifer Tomazic (@JenniferTomazic) May 4, 2020
The fire did not spread to the building, but there was smoke inside five stores, the Trib’s news partner, WPXI-TV, reported.
A Giant Eagle is part of the shopping center. Firefighters did not go inside the grocery store, according to WPXI.
The fire had no impact on the Giant Eagle and it opened for normal hours Monday, a spokesman said.
