3 warehouse fires in York and Lancaster counties in 3 months: Is there a connection?

Massive fires have destroyed three warehouses in York and Lancaster counties in the past three months.

Some people on social media have wondered whether the fires might be connected. Two of them occurred less than a week apart.

The causes of the three fires is not known at this time. York City Fire Chief William Sleeger, Jr. and Stewartstown fire chief Todd Gibney said the investigations into the York County infernos would take time given the level of destruction.

A state police fire marshal has been working to determine the cause of the fire in Columbia on Thursday night.

The fire marshal said there's no evidence showing that the fires are connected in any way, state police Trooper James Grothey said on Friday afternoon.

Here's a look at the three fires:

Tollhouse Antique warehouse fire

A three-alarm fire destroyed the Tollhouse Antique warehouse Thursday night in Columbia, Lancaster County.

Mike Groff, who was hanging out in a nearby park, said he saw a massive ball of orange flames.

"It was like an explosion," Groff said. "I was a Marine and I never saw anything like that in all my life. It scared the (bleep) out of me."

Firefighters from both York and Lancaster counties battled the fire at the 40,000-square-foot building that housed dozens of vendors.

David Doolittle, who has owned the business for about 15 years, estimated the loss at more than $500,000. It could even approach $1 million.

A look back: Other huge fires in York history

951 Elm Street warehouse fire in York

A six-alarm fire destroyed a 151,000-square-foot warehouse at 951 Elm Street in York last week − formerly the York Hoover Body Corp.

The York City Fire Department and York City Police detectives are investigating the cause of the fire.

The building had multiple tenants, including Herr Tool Sales owned by Tom Herr of Lancaster. He said the owner of the building had been working on renovations to it.

The building was demolished because it had become unstable and was starting to collapse, according to a York city news release.

Stewartstown furniture factory fire

On April 27, 2024, a six-alarm inferno tore through an old furniture factory warehouse in Stewartstown. It marked the largest fire in the borough's history.

Eureka Volunteer Fire Chief Todd Gibney said at the time that it could take weeks, months, or longer to determine the cause because of the level of destruction. The footprint of the three-story building was roughly 250,000 square feet.

A developer had been working on plans to rehabilitate the building into luxury apartments.