Firefighters set up a smoke ejector to clear smoke from Hilltop Piazza in Masury.
Thanks to quick action by Hilltop Pizza employees to call for help and a fast response by Brookfield firefighters, the Masury pizza shop sustained little structural damage, said Hannah Scharba, daughter of owners Mike and Nancy Scharba.
“We are so thankful to them,” Scharba said. “They’re the only reason the building is still standing.”
The fire Feb. 17 began in the basement in an old oven which was off at the time of a malfunction that started the fire, she said. Employees who were cleaning up from the day noticed smoke in the building and called 911, she said.
The fire spread to a furnace, and a wall by the oven sustained some fire damage, Scharba said.
“It could have been a lot worse,” she said.
The building is insured.
In terms of reopening, “We have no idea right now, no estimate,” Scharba said. “There is a lot of work to be done.”
In addition to replacing the oven and furnace and cleaning – smoke filled the entire building – the business will have to pass health inspections, she said.
Scharba thanked the community for reaching out to her and her family and offering to help in any way it can.
“The amount of support that was given is amazing, astonishing,” she said.
Brookfield firefighters said the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but is not considered suspicious.
