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FirernMidn.ofJPIdin■rofbearof»-us7-anththetarnsFrom Pace Onealarm was turned in about 1:15 p.m. by an unidentified resident of North Charleroi, just about directly across the Mo* nongahela River from the hotel.Monessen sent ail available pieces of equipment to the scene in a matter of 10 minutes with one truck after another racing through downtown shortly after the noon lunch hour.McShaffrey said flames were shooting through the roof in criss-cross fashion when firemen arrived. He said extremely dense smoke poured from the building in all directions, limiting the vision of truck drivers as they neared the scene.Some trucks were placed in fighting position only after their drivers were led by firemen on foot.Traffic on narrow Schoon* maker Ave. between 12th St. and Charleroi-Mooessen Bridge came to a halt almost immediately. The traffic jam lasted about two hours.Firemen were kept on the scene until 7 p.m, because of mop-up duties.As the main body of flames chased toward the roof and rear erf the building, firemen poured countless gallons of water on the front facing Schoon-maker Ave. to successfully prevent flames from reaching high voltage lines of West PennPower Co. and heavy lilies of Bell Telephone Co.Meanwhile, flames ate away at 13 bedrooms on the second floor, 14 on the third floor and a bar and dining room on the first floor. The intense heat of the flames caused glass windows to pop like firecrackers.Practically nothing was sal* vaged, McShaffrey stated.The building, which was or* iginally called the Victoria Hotel, was erected in 1903 by Michael Madigan on the right side of Schoonmaker Ave. looking toward Charleroi - Monessen Bridge. Several years later, because Pittsburgh Steel Co. purchased the property for expansion, the building was put on rollers and palled across the street by mules.The building was later purchased by Madigan’s sdn, John Alfonso Madigan, who, 'in turn, sold it to Sigmund Kirin of Un-iontown.The name of the hotel was changed to Rainbow Hotel after it was purchased from Klein by the late Jack Ross of Monessen, Carrie Mickles of Mones-sen Is the latest owner of the property.Monessen firemen were assisted at the scene by Charleroi Borough firemen, with Lock Four on standby duty for Char- ‘ leroi and Rostraver Twp, firemen on standby for Monessen.
Newspaper Details
Monessen Valley Independent
Monessen, Pennsylvania, US
Fri, May 09, 1969
Page 20
Full Page
Clipped by
State L.
PA, USA 04 Dec 2023
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