UPDATED: Bedford studio destroyed, nearby buildings damaged by fire

Feb. 28—BEDFORD, Pa. — A late-night, three-alarm fire destroyed a downtown Bedford art studio and damaged parts of two adjacent buildings late Monday and early Tuesday, officials said.

Bedford fire Chief Gary Cooper said that crews arrived just after 11:30 p.m. Monday on the 100 block of South Juliana Street to find that flames had spread throughout the rear part of a commercial building at 119 S. Juliana St.

Cooper said the building had two Airbnb short-term rental apartments on the second floor, but both were unoccupied. He did not provide an estimate of the damage to the structure, but said it's possible its older front end was salvageable.

While flames and smoke caused exterior damage to two nearby buildings, both saw limited damage and are repairable, Cooper said.

A Shawnee Valley firefighter suffered a shoulder injury during the response, but was treated and released from a local hospital, Cooper said. There were no other reports of injuries, Bedford County 911 officials said.

Located just a block from Bedford's town square, the fire lit up the night sky over the borough, photographs showed.

Including Bedford, crews from at least nine departments from as far away as Somerset assisted in the response.

Cooper credited first responders and community agencies for supporting the firefighters through the ordeal — and he said they were able to deploy fire hoses before the growing fire caused even more damage.

Cooper said the fire originated in the art studio, but a state police fire marshal was still working Tuesday to determine the cause of the blaze.