CANONSBURG, Pa. (AP) -
A longtime favorite candy factory sustained damage from an early morning fire that started around 7:00 a.m.
President of the company, Bill Sarris, said he got the call when he was headed into work for the day that his family business was up in flames.
His wife, Jamie, said she didn't really believe it until she saw the footage on the television.
Video of the fire showed flames through parts of the roof and heavy smoke pouring from the perimeter of the roof of the landmark store, loved by generations.
Only a handful of employees were in the store at the time the flames broke out. Lee Mox was one of them.
"We walked out to see what was going on, and we checked the box on the alarm and it said smoke, and at that time, Kevin, the gentleman who got everyone out of there, said ‘There's a fire! Get out!" and we got everyone out at that time and made sure everybody was out and walked out here and the smoke was just rolling, just coming out from everywhere."
Thankfully, damage from the fire was not as bad as initially feared, with most of the damage contained to a packaging area inside.
Sarris said the fire broke out in a part of the store where packaging and a lot of paperwork was done, which is the best place possible to minimize damage to the building.
He said the ice cream parlor did suffer some damage, though it was unclear how much as of Friday morning.
Firefighters were reportedly slipping on melted chocolate while battling the flames.
Sarris is optimistic about re-opening as soon as possible.
"You know, we're not going to be servicing customers in our store here for a while, but as soon as we finish this, you know, seal it off, you think its going to be months, then weeks, now we're looking at days where we can seal this off get all cleaned up and get back to business," Sarris said.
The employees say Sarris Candies is a wonderful company to work for, and they are more than willing to help the family rebuild and get up and running as soon as possible.
Regina Peeples, a Sarris employee of 13 years, was on her way into work when she heard the news.
She called Sarris a "wonderful place to come, a wonderful place to work," adding it's the only job she's ever had.
While the company took a major hit right before their busy season, with Valentine's Day and Easter approaching, they are optimistic about re-opening as soon as possible.
According to the Associated Press, the business was founded by Frank Sarris who began making chocolates in his basement before opening his business in 1963 which has grown into one of the largest and best known candy makers in western Pennsylvania.
There are apartments on the second floor where the building was on fire, but it is not clear if the fire began in one of those units or in the business below.
School children and others sell the candy to raise funds for activities and the candy is sold in supermarkets, other retail outlets and through the factory's store and ice cream parlor at the factory.
The business is located about 15 miles south of Pittsburgh.
Stay with wtrf.com for more details on the fire investigation.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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