‘Just devastating.’ Howard cabinet shop that employs 38 people destroyed by fire
A custom kitchen cabinet shop in Howard was destroyed by an overnight fire that took an estimated 1 millions gallons of water to extinguish, enough to supply a typical family for about eight years.
Firefighters were dispatched about 11:10 p.m. Wednesday to G.P. Cabinets at 276 Spearing St. Howard Fire Co. Chief Caleb Kelley told the Centre Daily Times more than half the building was on fire when firefighters arrived.
The cause is being investigated by a fire marshal, but Kelley said it may have been electrical. No one was inside the shop when the blaze began.
In many ways, a fire at the cabinet shop was a worst-case scenario for firefighters. It was filled with wood, sawdust and highly flammable substances such as lacquer finish and paint. The building had a flat roof at one point before a pitched roof was later constructed on top of it, which Kelley said caused complications when crews tried to either spray water down or vent smoke out.
It was such a concern that Kelley said the fire company took three or four tours of the building so they could have a plan in place if it caught fire.
“We knew we didn’t want to send anybody too deep inside because it was just a death trap,” Kelley said. “Somebody was definitely going to get hurt if they would have went too far in. We were pretty much set up to surround this and drown it because we knew it was going to be too far gone by the time anybody was able to do anything.”
Owner Jim Josefik said 38 people were employed at the business, which was poised to celebrate its 12th anniversary Friday. The company designs, builds and installs various cabinets before shipping them across the country.
After decades of working for others in the manufacturing industry, G.P. Cabinets was the first business Josefik owned.
“Panic. I got down here as fast as I could to try to help, get through the building,” Josefik said when asked of his reaction to the fire. “The people that work for me, that’s what I’m thinking about — where they’re going to go, how are we going to get this thing rolling? They were good people. That’s why it was G.P. Cabinets — good people.”
It’s unclear how insurance will help cover the costs, but Josefik said he would like to rebuild. He said it will be six months at least until the company will be able to “get things moving in the right direction.”
“It was a good culture here. We gave a lot of people a second chance,” Josefik said. “People were having hard times, couldn’t get a job somewhere else and we would provide a job for them.”
Kelley, the fire chief, said the blaze was under control by about 3:10 a.m. Firefighters remained on scene as of about 9:30 a.m. while the building smoldered. They paused only briefly to eat breakfast sandwiches that were dropped off by Wetzler Funeral Service owner Dylan Wetzler.
Twenty-three fire companies from Centre and Clinton counties responded and Kelley estimated there were upward of 50 volunteer firefighters. No injuries were reported.
Because of the large amount of water used on the fire, Howard residents may experience low or no water pressure Thursday, Centre County 911 posted on Facebook. It was unclear how soon the system would regenerate and return to normal pressure.
It’s similarly unclear how soon G.P. Cabinets and its 38 employees return to the tight-knit borough.
“It’s just devastating right now, trying to figure it all out,” Josefik said. “... We just have to pick up the pieces and build this puzzle back together somehow.”
This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 8:51 AM with the headline "‘Just devastating.’ Howard cabinet shop that employs 38 people destroyed by fire."