By A.J. Panian
The Tribune-Review
FAIRFIELD, Pa. — Irv Tantlinger recalled Sunday how his late father, Leroy Tantlinger, mortgaged the family home as a means of founding the Fairfield fire department.
“There were about six or eight other men that did the same thing. It’s just the way this community has always been, do what you have to do,” said Tantlinger, 65, of Fairfield, a 30-year department member.
Descendents of those men, including Tantlinger and many other sons, daughters and grandsons, were still in shock Sunday as they sifted through the charred remains of their department’s 40-year-old fire hall, which was severely damaged Saturday by a swift-moving fire.
No injuries were reported, said Fairfield fire Chief Kevin Stiffler.
“I can’t believe it happened,” Tantlinger said. “My dad spent so many hours laying the block and bricks for this building.”
The blaze — reported to Westmoreland 911 at 4:09 p.m. — began in the kitchen as Carol and David Cassler of Carol & Dave’s Roadhouse in Ligonier Township were preparing a wedding reception feast for newlyweds Tyler and Trisha Cravener.
“Carol and Dave are such good people and such good friends of ours. They don’t normally cater events like this, and they were doing it just to help us out,” said Trisha Cravener yesterday by phone from the couple’s home in Latrobe.
Working quickly up through the walls to the building’s attic area, the flames overtook the brick and wood structure’s roof in a matter of minutes.
As 10 fire companies dispatched from Westmoreland and Cambria counties worked to control the blaze, the Craveners were completing their marriage ceremony outdoors at Schmucker’s Grove, a rural property in Derry Township.
“My bridesmaids were drawing straws to decide who would tell us it was happening,” Trisha Cravener said. “When we found out, Tyler and I just lost it.”
But the community spirit reflected in the department’s rich history shone through as dozens rallied to salvage the couple’s big day.
It began as department member Dean Caldwell of Fairfield, Trisha’s 67-year-old grandfather, phoned fellow department member Bill Hutchinson, the assistant manager of Champion Lakes Golf Course & Bed and Breakfast.
“I was just leaving for the day and he asked if we had a banquet hall free for an emergency. We did,” Hutchinson said.
In only one hour, club employees along with the Casslers were able to re-create what Trisha Cravener said was a memorable atmosphere for the reception.
“Nobody got hurt, and we could’ve been in the middle of our reception when it happened, so we feel very blessed.”
Despite the damage to the building, the department’s five trucks and numerous pieces of equipment and supplies were largely spared by the fire, Stiffler said. The equipment will be stored in the nearby Fairfield Boys Club building.
Department officials are withholding comment on what might have caused the blaze until the building is inspected by insurance company officials, Stiffler said.
“That should be sometime this week,” he said.
In May, the department began using the hall as a blueprint for responding to fires in a more time-efficient manner. Such preparation aided the firefighters on Saturday.
“A lot of what we planned for came together in the suppression effort,” said department member Nick Heming, 24, of Ligonier.
In an effort to raise funds for the Fairfield department, officials plan to hold a gun bash at the Waterford fire department on Oct. 25.
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