Tuesday, December 4, 5:21 p.m. By Scott Schaffer

There were some tense moments for firefighters in one Schuylkill County community Tuesday afternoon after flames ripped through part of a manufacturing complex, setting off several small explosions in the heart of downtown Tamaqua.

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Smoke pours from the Remally Manufacturing Complex in Tamaqua Tuesday afternoon after a series of small explosions and a fire. PhotoLink by Andrew Leibenguth.

The fire at the Remally Manufacturing Complex forced emergency crews to shut down several streets in downtown Tamaqua.

Neighbors said the smoke could be seen throughout the town.

"I looked out my window down this way, and oh a tremendous big cloud of black smoke. I knew it had to be something real bad," said Robert Rummel.

Fire crews said it could have been much worse. The flames started in the ceiling of the small welding shop, setting off several small explosions.

"That in turn caught several flammable containers of paint thinner on fire. They exploded, and then it came over to this building," said Assistant Fire Chief Tom Hartz.

He added the welding shop was destroyed. The small storage building across the alley was also damaged but Remally Manufacturing can remain in business.
"This building used to be a machine shop. We turned it into some welding for these blue recycling bins. We build and remodel them," explained Bill Yost of Remally Manufacturing.

Yost's family has operated the company since the 1800s. The last fire to damage the business was back in 1913 when, Yost said, the place burned to the ground.

Remally rebuilt then and Yost said the metal fabricating business will be able to withstand this setback.

No one was hurt but the assistant fire chief said it could have turned out much differently.

"If it would have been an explosion that would have gotten into this building here, this would have been a nightmare, this one. I wouldn't have even sent anybody in," Hartz said.