Fire destroys Butler County used book store, elderly woman living upstairs flown to hospital

OAKLAND TOWNSHIP, Pa. — An elderly woman was flown to a hospital after a fire broke out at a building in Butler County early Monday.

The fire happened in the 200 block of Oneida Valley Road in Oakland Township around 2:42 a.m. The building housed a used bookstore, Readers’ paradise, and two apartments upstairs.

Fire officials reported that a loud explosion woke neighbors, prompting them to call 911 before rushing to the building to help the woman living in one of the apartments.

“It is heartbreaking, but I am glad she made it out, and that’s the only thing that matters—she made it out,” said Rochella Herold, who operates the Readers’ Paradise bookstore.

The woman narrowly escaped but suffered severe burns and was flown to a hospital in the Pittsburgh area.

“She wasn’t mobile; she needed help. If it weren’t for the neighbors waking up to that loud boom, it could have had a different outcome,” said Fire Chief Gary Wulff of Oneida Valley.

Neighbors also contacted the bookstore owner. Her husband shared what happened next.

“She received a call around 2:30 a.m. from a neighbor informing her that the bookstore was on fire, so she hasn’t gone back to bed since,” said Dennis Shook, the bookstore owner.

Dennis’s wife ran Readers’ Paradise for nearly 30 years before their daughter, Rochella, took over. Due to his wife’s health, she could not inhale smoke after the fire. He showed us the destruction left behind.

“I estimate we had at least 35,000 books. The books were all categorized in alphabetical order by the author. You could give her the title and author, and she could find it for you,” he recounted.

The family expressed that more than the loss of the books, they will miss the customers who had become friends over the years.

“I hate to see it go. I hate to see the community lose it because many people relied on us,” Herold said.

We asked Shook if they plan to rebuild.

“I doubt it. I think everything is ruined. There are a few books that might be salvageable,” Shook replied.

The fire is currently under investigation.

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