Stroud Township, PA – Fire officials are still working to pinpoint the cause of a Sunday night fire that gutted half of a commercial building housing Munchy’s Pizzeria on Route 611 in Stroud Township.
Medhat Kamel and Mohamed Elsayed spent two years remodeling and building a customer base and what they called their dream was destroyed in a suspected propane gas explosion.
“It’s like your baby. You raise it up,” Kamel said. “We put in a lot of money, worked seven days a week.”
Kamel said he and Elsayed left work around 10 p.m. and were getting ready to eat when they received the call about the blast.
“It was bad. I couldn’t stop crying all night and every time I look at it,” Kamel said.
The business opened in 2011 and recently received a license to sell take-out beer. They pledged to rebuild.
The fire did not appear to have damaged the other half of the building, which is occupied by Oasis on 611 hair salon.
Fire Marshal Jamison Sgarlat said officials suspect the propane-powered appliances at Munchy’s as the culprit.
Firefighters were dispatched at 10:37 p.m. and arrived five minutes later to find a fireball erupting from within.
“First thing we did was find the gas and turn it off,” Stroud Township fire Chief Bruce Owens said.