No one injured in fire at Shaler metal fabricating warehouse, cause under investigation

No one was injured after welding machines caught on fire at a Shaler warehouse on Sunday morning, a firefighter said.

The blaze was reported shortly after 7 a.m. at V B Fabricators Inc., a metal fabricating warehouse located at 1467 Glenn Ave.

Firefighters arrived at the warehouse to see heavy smoke coming from inside. Flames also could be seen through a window, said Dwayne Steinmetz, a firefighter with Undercliff Volunteer Fire Company.

Steinmetz said firefighters broke down a door to get inside, and immediately found flames coming from what appeared to be welding machines. They were able to contain the blaze, and had it knocked out in less than ten minutes.

“Our biggest concern when we initially got there was some of the tanks that are utilized with the welding machines,” Steinmetz said. “That creates an extra hazard for us.”

“That was my major concern when we first made entry. I could actually hear one hissing,” Steinmetz continued. “That’s why we moved rather quick to get the fire put out, so we didn’t have a risk for a possible explosion.”

Steinmetz couldn’t provide a damage estimate for the fire. He referred that question to the business. Attempts to reach the business for comment Sunday weren’t immediately successful.

After putting the fire out, firefighters remained on scene for roughly two hours to clear smoke from the building, Steinmetz said.

“All the fire trucks have ventilation fans on them that we were able to set up in doorways and push it out,” Steinmetz said. “There were some hatches on the roof that we opened up to let the smoke rise up and out. There were also some built-in ventilation fans throughout the warehouse that we were able to utilize.”

Steinmetz said the Allegheny County Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the fire.

Matt Brown, chief of Allegheny County’s Department of Emergency Services said the cause of the fire is most likely related to a piece of machinery at this point of the investigation.

Brown said investigators will return to the scene when all power is secured and isolated in order to complete the investigation.