Fire extensively damages Latrobe pastry shop, displaces apartment dweller

A fire extensively damaged Latrobe’s Dainty Pastry Shoppe Thursday night and displaced one occupant from an apartment in the Depot Street building, according to fire officials.

Reported at about 9:30 p.m., the blaze was knocked down within an hour, Latrobe Fire Chief John Brasile said, though crews remained on the scene after 11 p.m., cutting into the roof to check for remaining hot spots.

No injuries were reported, according to Brasile.

He said the fire appears to have started in an area at the rear of the business where walk-in coolers and related compressors are located. The flames spread and destroyed about two-thirds of the building at 339 Depot, he said, with apartments receiving smoke damage.

A state police fire marshal likely will be asked to investigate the cause of the blaze, Brasile said.

Bakery co-owner Curt Colaianne, whose mother owns the building, said the business had closed at 4 p.m. He was alerted to the fire by his son.

“When we got here, smoke was coming out of the back of the building,” Colaianne said, adding that flames were shooting from the area occupied by the coolers.

He said the family business is just shy of marking its 75th anniversary.

“We’re fully insured,” he said. “We’re going to be just evaluating the whole scenario one day at a time.

“It’s a block building, so the structure may be solid enough for us to tear everything up and rebuild.”

Colaianne praised the work of firefighters, who were able to salvage treasured photos from the building.

Latrobe firefighters were assisted by multiple departments, including crews from Unity and Greensburg.

Traffic was temporarily detoured around sections of Depot and Main streets.