Fire damages downtown Scranton building

A local downtown landmark was heavily damaged in a Saturday morning fire, but the owner of the building said he hopes it can be salvaged.

City firefighters were called to 115 Franklin Ave. at about 8 a.m. and found the building, which once held the Pasqualichio Brothers meatpacking business, in flames.

The building now holds Wylam and Georgetti Law Offices and space slated for apartments.

John Basalyga of JBAS Realty, which purchased the building in 2021, said when he learned of the fire, his first question was if anyone was hurt.

“First and foremost, we want to make sure everybody’s safe, and we’re blessed that everyone is safe,” he said. “You can always rebuild a building. A life is more important.”

When he learned there were no injures, his next concern was for the owner and staff of the law office.

“They planned on going in on Monday and conducting business,” he said. “We’ve offered them another location for now, until we see what’s going on with the building.”

His third concern, he said, was for the historic building itself.

“You become attached to a building,” he said. “To see it going up in flames, that’s tough.”

Basalyga said he believes the front of the building, which held the law offices, and the back of the building had mostly fire and smoke damage.

The brunt of the fire damage is to the middle of the building, he said.

Within the next week or two, engineers will determine the extent of damage to the building. which will inform Basalyga’s next move.

“My intent is to avoid taking a wrecking ball to such a beautiful building,” he said. “Oftentimes, nothing gets build back when that happens. My goal is to rebuild.”

Basalyga credited city firefighters and police with limiting the damage to the building and keeping everyone safe.

Scranton Fire Chief John Judge described damage to the building as “substantial.”

Fire crews were pulled from the building during the fire out of a concern for safety, he said.

Crews used large ladder trucks to spray the building with water from outside.

One firefighter sustained a minor injury and was evaluated by emergency personnel, he said.

Judge said fire investigators were investigating the cause and origin of the fire and would enter the building when and if it was safe to do so.

Fire crews would be on scene overnight to ensure the fire would not reignite, he said.