CARLISLE, Pa. (WHTM) -
A local radio station that's been on the air for almost 50 years was knocked off the air Monday when a fire raged through its studios.
"I left for lunch at about ten after one and I came back and the building was on fire and it was the most shocking thing I had ever seen," said Ray Thomas, WIOO Program Director.
Just after 1:30 p.m., fire crews were called to WIOO Radio on York Road in South Middleton Township.
When Thomas left just before lunch, everything appeared to be fine at the station.
"Seen and smelled nothing. Absolutely nothing," he said. "When I left the building everything was perfectly normal."
When he returned, the building was engulfed on all four sides. Luckily, no one was there when it broke out.
"The business wasn't closed but they were on auto pilot today. I mean there was no one in the station running, they were just running programming all day long," said Cumberland County Public Information Officer John Bruetsch.
A state police fire marshal said the electrical fire started in the first floor ceiling.
"The depth of the fire damage, the char of the wood and everything makes him believe that the fire was smoldering for quite sometime and potentially when the individual came to check on the equipment, coming in and going out left enough fresh air into the building that may have given the fire the little bit of oxygen it needed to start going," Bruetsch said.
WIOO was founded by the Swidler family in the mid 1960's. Monday afternoon, they did what they could to salvage their sound equipment from the second floor studio and want to salvage their station as well.
"Our plan is to get back on the air as soon as possible and get back with our community based programming that all of our friends and neighbors have grown to know and really appreciate," said Eric Swidler, WIOO Operations Manager.
The station was back up and running Tuesday.
If you would like to reach out to the station and offer your support, they would love to hear from their friends and neighbors at wioo@pa.net.
