Quality Inn in New Kensington damaged by fire after car severs natural gas line, crashes into building

Quick action by firefighters early Sunday prevented a blaze from spreading through a New Kensington hotel when a car slammed into the building and sheared off a natural gas supply line that fed the flames, a New Kensington fire official said.

“We averted a disaster,” New Kensington fire Chief Ed Saliba said of the fire at Quality Inn, 300 Tarentum Bridge Road.

There were no injuries to the driver of the vehicle, guests at the motel or firefighters as a result of the incident, which was reported at 2:11 a.m., Saliba said.

The fire was limited to the exterior corner of the western side of the building that contains the grand ballroom. Firefighters prevented the blaze from entering the ballroom, Saliba said, although there was some interior damage. Smoke filled the ballroom and lobby.

“They (firefighters) did an excellent job” preventing the fire from spreading, said Jeff Stahl, general manager of the Quality Inn. Stahl said he is awaiting an insurance company representative Monday who will assess the damage.

Although the building’s natural gas supply was shut off because of the accident and fire, the hotel will remain open because the guests’ rooms are heated by electrical units, Stahl said. The lobby is without heat, he noted.

Firefighters were preparing to evacuate guests from the hotel to another location but did not have to take those measures, Saliba said. The hotel has 113 rooms, according to its website, but only about 30 rooms were occupied overnight Saturday, Stahl said.

“They were inconvenienced but were able to stay in their rooms,” Stahl said.

The restaurant and banquet area are not open but typically are not open on Sundays and Mondays, Stahl said.

The blaze started when the driver of the vehicle, who was not identified, drove over the sidewalk, hitting the gas pipe and smashing into the building. New Kensington police arrived on the scene, and the driver was able to get out of the vehicle, Saliba said.

Firefighters on the ground and the roof worked to douse the fire, Saliba said, but did not want to extinguish it for fear that the gas escaping the supply line without burning off might permeate the air, resulting in an explosion if ignited.

“We made a ‘water curtain,’ ” to prevent the fire from spreading through the building, he said. Firefighters also opened a firewall on the roof to control the fire and extinguish it.

Once a Peoples Natural Gas Co. employee shut off the natural gas supply to the hotel, firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze, Saliba said.

Firefighters had to endure 12-degree weather with winds off the nearby Allegheny River and icy conditions as the water froze, Saliba said.

Firefighters from all five of New Kensington’s companies were assisted by units from Arnold, Lower Burrell and Highland Hose Company in Tarentum, Saliba said.

Stahl said he is hoping the hotel will be able to host an upcoming glass festival scheduled for March 4-5.

The hotel is operated by Lotus Hotels, Stahl said, and owned by Divine Light Real Estate Co. of New Kensington, according to Westmoreland County tax maps. It purchased the property from Zil Enterprises Inc. for $1.9 million in 2015, according to the recorder of deeds filing.