Churchville Inn ruined by fire

The Churchville Inn in Southampton, a local landmark in Bucks County, was left in ruins by a fire that forced the two managers to flee their apartments above the restaurant early Sunday.

"I woke up gagging on smoke . . . coming through the ceiling," said Andrew Wallace, 27, whose two-bedroom apartment is one floor above the historic restaurant.

Gasping, Andrew said he ran to his bedroom window to gulp fresh air. He woke his girlfriend, Nicole Sidorcheck, 25. She scooped up Andrew's beagle Sammy and together they fled to safety down an interior staircase.

In an adjacent apartment, his brother David, 29, made his way out a window, onto a lower-level roof and then to the ground, wearing only his boxer shorts.

Andrew Wallace, also in his underwear, never noticed the cold. "I had so much adrenaline going I didn't feel it," he said. Neighbors loaned the victims sweatpants and sweatshirts.

The brothers, both graduates of the Culinary Institute of America, have run the Inn since 2005. Their parents purchased it 25 years ago and turned it over to the brothers when they retired to St. Augustine, Florida. David runs the kitchen. Andrew runs "the front of the house."

Andrew Wallace said he had purchased "the most expensive smoke detector Home Depot had" a few months ago. But the fresh batteries he installed leaked and he removed it. He had planned to replace the unit but had not gotten around to it.

"Thank God we woke up," he said in a telephone interview while surveying a basement filled with what he described as three feet of water that was used to fight the blaze.

David Wallace was injured when he jumped to the ground. He was reported in fair condition at St. Mary Medical Center in Middletown Township.

Andrew Wallace said his brother appeared to be OK, but "might be held a day or two" for observation.

The restaurant, at 1500 Bustleton Pike, was a meeting place for community groups and a friendly haven in Eagles country for fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Barbecued ribs were its trademark.

"It'll be a loss for the town," said Bucks County Commissioner Charles Martin, a longtime Southampton resident. "It's a shame. Churchville is just a little community. A lot of town folks use that as a meeting place."

The fire, reported at 7:11 a.m., apparently started in a back room in one of the second-floor apartments, or in the attic, said Southampton Fire Chief Glenn McKenney, who did not immediately know the exact cause of the blaze. Firefighters from five companies responded and had the fire under control in about an hour.

The fire left the building without a roof and totally destroyed the two apartments. The ground-floor restaurant had extensive smoke and water damage. Regardless of the damage, said Andrew, the brothers want to rebuild.