Doylestown strip mall fire sends 5 to hospital

Doylestown, Pa. (WTXF) A stubborn fire took emergency crews three hours to get under control. Firefighters got the call just before five Monday evening that Luxury Bath Fixtures on Main Street in Doylestown was on fire.

"We saw flames, a lot of dark smoke and a lot of firefighters everywhere," said Marty Laird. He's one of dozens of people who stopped to watch. Officials say they had to call in companies from all over Bucks and Montgomery Counties. The flames and smoke were deep inside the building and so bad at times that crews were pulled out to tackle it from the outside.

"We did have a partial collapse in the rear. Part of the roof is cracking pretty badly so we do have some safety zones set up. We're not going to put anybody in for their own safety because there is the possibility of a building collapse as well," said Larry Browne, Public Information Officer for Doylestown Fire Company #1.

Officials don't believe the business was open and they say it doesn't appear that the fire spread to others stores in this strip mall.

Dave Bowen is concerned.

"I'm a plumbing contractor and I go in there all the time so I'm not sure if I have anything sitting in there right now," he said. Bowen says he knew it was bad before he even got into the area.

"When I first came into Doylestown I could smell smoke from five miles away," said Bowen.

Three firefighters, a PECO employee and a bystander were taken to the hospital for heat exhaustion.

The cause is still under investigation.