Investigators seek cause of fire that destroyed Hermitage store

HERMITAGE, Pa. — City Fire Marshal Bob Geltz said Wednesday that no cause has been determined for a fire that destroyed a State Street business.

The fire broke out about 4 p.m. Tuesday at Splitstone Entertainment, 2880 E. State St.

The business was renting the building from a man named Ralph Perrili, said owner Bill Splitstone. It buys, sells and trades video games, movies, CDs, martial arts equipment and paintball equipment.

Splitstone said as many as nine people were in the store at the time, including himself, a friend and customers. Everyone escaped without injuries.

By noon today, there was still no word on the cause of the fire. Splitstone said it appears to have started in an old bathroom that was being used as a storage closet.

Splitstone, who lives in West Middlesex, and his friend who was there, Tom Miller of Farrell, both said as soon as they smelled something burning, they called 911.

Then, Splitstone said, he used a fire extinguisher on the flames.

Miller said everyone moved their cars away from the building, and about three minutes later, the fire was through the roof above the room where it started.

The fire department arrived quickly, they said.

This morning, the building still stood, but the inside and contents were a charred, jumbled mess.

Splitstone, who had his business at the location for a year and a half and across the street for five years prior, said he does not know at this point if anything inside is salvageable and had not thought about when and where he will reopen.