Four Alarm fire Spreads Through Lawrenceville Business

(WPXI) –  Firefighters battled a four-alarm fire at a large commercial building in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood for hours Saturday morning.  A spokesperson with Pittsburgh Public Safety said police, fire and medics were called to the CleanCare warehouse on 51st Street just after 10 a.m.  Flames could be seen shooting up from the roof of the hospitality and restaurant linen business. Heavy smoke was billowing out.  A Pittsburgh Public Safety official says the fire spread rapidly through the industrial space used by a linen laundering business.  With flames continuing to spread despite firefighter efforts and a sprinkler system, the blaze was raised from a first to a fourth alarm in less than an hour. At one point, all firefighters were evacuated from the building.  The fire was deemed under control by 12:24 p.m., while crews were still working to put out hotspots throughout the facility. Crews maintained a fire watch for several hours after to prevent re-ignition. CleanCare COO Jason Preffer says the fire damaged some offices, including the break room and they lost some new inventory. Preffer, however, said it won’t stop them from serving customers, adding it’ll be business as usual at the two other plant locations in Pittsburgh and Buffalo.