Black smoke rolled from second-story windows of a Scranton building just before 10 p.m. Wednesday night, with city firefighters knocking glass out of window panes onto the pavement below as rain poured down.
Onlookers gathered on the sidewalks as police blocked off the 500 and 400 blocks of Lackawanna Avenue for firefighters battling the two-alarm fire at 506 Lackawanna Ave., the building in between the Scranton Liederkrantz and Buona Pizza.
The building is vacant on the bottom floor.
The two neighboring businesses appeared to have escaped unscathed.
City fire marshal Marty Monahan was on scene Wednesday night, but further information on the fire was unavailable as of press time. It is unclear if there were any injuries or what caused the fire.
The property in question, owned by Stanley and Susan Stadolny, is one the Scranton Redevelopment Authority moved to condemn in 2006, arguing it was blighted, for a renovation project known as the "Renaissance at 500" in the 500 block of Lackawanna Avenue.
The property owners, along with the owners of the neighboring Buona Pizza, 504 Lackawanna Ave., fought the condemnation, arguing the SRA lacked the power to condemn the property and failed to follow state law on condemnation procedures.
The court ruled in favor of the property owners, stating the SRA didn't have the ability to condemn the properties.
Mr. and Mrs. Stadolny could not be reached for comment late Wednesday.
Contact the writer: ksullivan@timesshamrock.com, @ksullivanTT on Twitter