Garage lost, but house spared in Spring Township blaze that shut down part of College Avenue
A portion of College Avenue remained closed for several hours Saturday night after crews were called to a two-alarm fire in Spring Township.
Emergency crews were dispatched to a well-involved garage fire in the 200 block of East College Avenue in Pleasant Gap, less than half-mile from Red Horse Tavern and The Cakeshop by Tati. The homeowner and a neighbor were temporarily evacuated for about an hour, but no nearby homes were damaged — and no one was seriously injured — by the blaze that took about 75 minutes to get under control.
According to Robert Silvis, fire chief for Pleasant Gap Fire Company, the homeowner was even able to return to his house Saturday night. The garage, which was constructed of timber, was completely lost, however.
“The house wasn’t touched at all,” Silvis added. “It was great the way we worked together and got it knocked down and put out.”
The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Crews responded just before 9 p.m. Saturday and got the blaze under control a little after 10 p.m., although the garage continued to smolder even after 11 p.m. with multiple crews on-scene.
East College Avenue was closed in both directions between Main Street and Harrison Road. It did not reopen before midnight.
Crews responding to the scene included the Alpha, Centre Hall, Logan, Pleasant Gap, Undine and Walker Township fire companies — in addition to the Spring Township Police Department, Bellefonte EMS and Pleasant Gap EMS.
This story was originally published November 11, 2023 at 9:35 PM.
