Business owner regroups after Scottdale fire

A Scottdale business owner was at a loss for words Tuesday after a fire damaged his automotive business the night before.

“I’m just feeling a little lost right now,” said John Hyatt, owner of Keystone Autoworx LLC. “This isn’t just a job for me. I have everything in this (business).”

He said he isn’t sure what he’ll do.

Hyatt got a call Monday night from his office manager that the shop was on fire. He had been on his way back from picking up a car in Freeport. By the time he made it to Scottdale, the flames mostly were extinguished.

“I just didn’t want to believe what I was hearing,” Hyatt said. “I didn’t know how bad it was. I always try to look at things with a glass half full. You try to stay as positive as you can, but then I got (to the scene) and I saw it.”

Firefighters were called just before 8 p.m.

The fire burned for about 15 minutes, but it was enough for the roof of the shop to cave in and the cars inside to be damaged. Scottdale fire Chief Dave Wendell said the fire melted the insulation on the power lines, causing them to fall. West Penn Power cut off power in the area while firefighters battled the flames.

Westmoreland County Hazardous Materials Response Team responded because of concerns about the chemicals in car paint, oil and tanks that were burned in the flames being mixed with the water used to put out the fire, Wendell said.

“I called them in as a precautionary measure,” Wendell said. “They put up booms around the drains and tested the water with litmus paper to make sure it was safe.”

The test came back negative for contaminants and was deemed safe, Wendell said.

The cause of the fire is undetermined.

“I’m glad that nobody was hurt,” Hyatt said.

Hyatt has owned the building for two years. He would repair and sell cars, and ran a notary business out of the same storefront. In the day after the fire, community members and customers stopped in front of the building to inquire about how Hyatt was doing.

“It’s really nice of the people that reached out to me,” Hyatt said. “Some of them I haven’t gotten back to because it’s kind of hard to talk about.”

He has been around cars his entire life, his father teaching him how to love the work.

“I just went out and did whatever dad did,” Hyatt said.

Hyatt said he isn’t sure what is next.

“I’m still kind of taking it in,” Hyatt said. “I don’t know what to do. I mean, if it’s over, it’s over. Sometimes things are out of your control. I’m thankful for the people that I got to meet and things that I got to do.”