A longstanding staple in the Aliquippa community, Cesina's Sausage Company, was substantially damaged by a fire yesterday afternoon. Firefighters received alerts and were dispatched to the locale on Kennedy Boulevard a little before 4 p.m., where they encountered and combated the blaze for close to three hours. In doing so, they also prompted the closure of a portion of the road to ensure a safe perimeter for their operations, according to a report by CBS News Pittsburgh.
John Costanza, co-owner of the century-old business, described the incident, per WPXI, recounting how the smoke and fire quickly filled the building. "When I say you couldn’t see from this side to that side, we couldn’t even see the building." As crews worked diligently through the smoke and flames, co-owner Charlene Costanza-Tranelli and family were seen salvaging what they could, including irreplaceable photographs and memorabilia passed down through generations. "What our parents passed on to us. Pictures of the old building, the old business," Costanza-Tranelli stated.
The aftermath of the fire left the company facing extensive interior damage, including parts of the ceiling. Fortunately, the establishment had been closed on the day of the incident, and an employee present earlier for pick-up had exited the venue before the fire took hold.
