Pinnacle Business Management (Prev SRCI)

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Investigators: Fire was set intentionally

By Daniel Reynolds
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, June 26, 2004

State police investigators questioned employees and neighbors of All Pro Auto Mall in Canonsburg on Friday as they sought clues on who might have started a fire that destroyed the used-car dealership and financing agency.

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist" to determine the fire was set, said Tim Solobay, assistant chief of the Canonsburg Volunteer Fire Department.

The fire that raced through the wooden roof of the dealership about 5 p.m. Thursday probably started in the paint-filled warehouse where someone tried to start a fire in three places Wednesday afternoon, according to Solobay, who also is a state legislator.

Employees put out Wednesday's fire with extinguishers, police said. Solobay said so many flammable substances are stored in the warehouse that the fire could have reignited by itself on Thursday, or Wednesday's culprit could have set another one.

Canonsburg police Chief R.T. Bell said the materials or fuel used to start the fire were unknown yesterday.

Vince Lo Castro, general manager for All Pro Group, said the corporation hopes to rebuild within six months.

"This too shall pass," Lo Castro said. "We will knock this down, and we will rebuild, and we will be right here."

He described the auto mall as a one-stop shop for used-car buyers, providing financing for most of the cars purchased there.

Lo Castro said there were no recent conflicts that led him to suspect an employee or customer had started the fire.

"We deal with a lot of people," Lo Castro said. "The last thing in the world I want to believe was that it was intentional."

But the fire burned so violently and quickly that investigators think it was intentional. The fire destroyed three buildings, twisted steel beams and ruined at least 10 cars. A service facility, corporate offices and a records room were destroyed.

All 12 employees who were at the dealership Thursday were uninjured, and about 100 cars on a nearby lot were unharmed. A hair salon, Central Cuts, and a free-standing dealership office that are part of the two-block compound also were untouched.

Vinyl siding on nearby homes melted and dangled like draped cloth yesterday.

"I couldn't take the smoke," said Frank Scandale, 66, of nearby Jefferson Street, who drove down an alley to watch the fire from his car but had to leave after a few minutes.

Les Misko, an adjuster with Erie Insurance, said it would be weeks before the amount of the loss will be determined.

Daniel Reynolds can be reached at [e-mail] or [phone]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/news/s_200626.html