27/06/05 Employees will be laid off after fire destroys U.S. Pallet building. (By Chuck Biedka)

The deputy fire marshal and his crew wielded rakes and hand tools to pore over the blackened, disjointed skeleton of a wooden building at U.S. Pallet Co. along Route 910 near the township building.

"We're trying to lay out what's left of the electrical system," said Dan Brucker, who is Allegheny County's chief deputy fire marshal.

No one was reported hurt by the fire, but all 10 pallet company employees were to be laid off temporarily as a result. A shop where pallets are built was among the area that was destroyed. Pallets are wooden platforms that merchandise can be loaded on. The loaded pallet can be moved from place to place with a forklift.

The fire was reported at 4 a.m. by a motorist on the nearby turnpike who smelled smoke. Six hours later, investigators said the cause of the blaze had not been determined.

They estimated the property sustained at least $300,000 damage.

The company builds pallets that it sells nationwide, according to owner Amir Ghaznavi.

Brucker said a step-by-step investigation is under way. Among other things, investigators will compare the fire remains to pre-fire photos from the insurance company.

Brucker's crew sifted through ashes and rubble, careful to avoid exposed nails and glass under a sweltering sun that pushed temperatures into the high-80s. Investigators planned to return today.

Police arrived first early Friday and cut a lock to the plant, which was closed for the night. There was no night watchman.

From the beginning, the fierce fire forced Indiana Township and West Deer firefighters to battle the blaze from outside the building, said Paul Robbins, a lieutenant with the township's Dorseyville fire company.

Somehow, firefighters saved hundreds of finished pallets stacked less than 10 feet away. Other buildings were also preserved at the 12-year-old company.

"I cannot believe how much effort they put in," said Ghaznavi, who also owns a nearby car sales lot. "The chief (Sandy Koski) and the fire departments did a great job," he said.

Firefighters created a curtain of water to shield undamaged materials from the inferno.

"We used deck guns and deluge guns from engines and the 290 Quint," Robbins said. The pumper truck offers an aerial platform that can spray water from high in the air.

The fire closed Route 910 until just before 10:30 a.m.

WTAE-TV reported the pallet company employees will be laid-off. Ghaznavi told the Valley News Dispatch that the fire "will not kill the company."

Chuck Biedka can be reached at cbiedka@tribweb.com or (724) 226-4711..