August 26, 2009
Hanover fire officials believe a discarded cigarette started a small fire on the roof of Hanover Clothing Company Wednesday afternoon. Firefighters from Hanover and Penn Township rushed to the report of a fire at the Carlisle Street business after store employees and upstairs tenants smelled smoke around 2:20 p.m., according to Hanover Fire Commissioner James Roth. Employees originally called their air conditioning company, but determined it was a small fire on the roof of the building. Someone used a chemical extinguisher to douse it, Roth said. Roth said he believed a cigarette burned through the rubber roof into the insulation and void above the store's cash register. John Lingg, owner of Hanover Clothing Company, said he received a call from a tenant about the fire and he rushed there from his home two blocks away. The fire was about the size of a softball, and was extinguished before the fire department was called, Lingg added. Roth told Lingg he'd need to call an electrician and a roofer for the damage. Firefighters cut around some of the wires in the roof to determine what was affected by the fire, Roth said. Although this was a small fire, Roth said fires along the row of buildings leading into Center Square have the potential to become bad quickly. The building in Wednesday's fire is more than 100 years old and wooden, Roth added. Carlisle Street was closed from Chestnut to the Square while firefighters worked to determine the cause.
Story and photo from the Hanover Evening Sun.