Husband, wife taken to hospital as fire burned at photography studio in Washington

WASHINGTON, Pa. — A couple was taken to a hospital as a big fire burned Thursday morning, destroying a photography studio in Washington, officials said.

The fire was reported about 7:30 a.m. at Ruschel Studio on North Main Street. There were four apartments located above the studio that were also destroyed.

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Seven people lived in the apartments, officials said. A husband and wife among them were taken to a hospital for smoke inhalation and are expected to be OK.

“People were coming out of there with no clothes on except underwear. We gave them blankets if we had them and jackets, made coffee. They were too upset. Everything they own is in that building,” Joe Vucic, who works nearby, said.

The 87-year-old owner of the studio watched from his car as the flames shot from the building.

“It's just devastating,” Sandy Ruschel-Bertosh, the daughter of the owner, said. “He got the call this morning that it was on fire and he drove up here.”

As firefighters worked to put out the fire, thick, black smoke billowed into the sky. Water ran down the street, sweeping up debris and ponding in the heart of downtown Washington.

“Everybody in this community over the last 60, almost 70 years, they have Ruschel photographs in his home. They have wonderful memories, so this is a very sad day for my mom my dad and the Ruschel family,” Ruschel-Bertosh said.

Officials believe the fire started in the basement of the studio, but a fire marshal will investigate further.

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