High winds, an open floor plan and heavy timber construction joined forces in a blaze destroying the Buckeye Tavern, 3741 N. Brookside Road, according to Lower Macungie Township Fire Chief David J. Nosal.

No one was hurt and a cause is not yet known.

Winds clocked at eight to 10 miles per hour with gusts in the low 20s fed the fire, Nosal said.

"Windy days are not beneficial to firefighting," he said.

Plus, the building, a restaurant, featured an open floor plan which allowed the fire to quickly spread.

And the building, built in the 18th century, was constructed of heavy timber and various other woods.

As a result the fire "intensified and increased in size very rapidly," Nosal said by telephone May 13. Nosal was on the fire scene until about 4 a.m. May 13. The fire was reported mid-evening May 12.

George Caldarelli, fire marshal for Lower Macungie Township, said at the scene May 13 the investigation was in early stages. Caldarelli expected to interview witnesses and employees and several people were gathered in a parking lot at Buckeye Tavern behind yellow caution tape and orange cones as Caldarelli spoke. A woman wearing a blanket as a shawl accepted a hug from a man in a dress shirt and tie.

Fire personnel from Alburtis, Emmaus, Macungie, Old Zionsville, Trexlertown, Vera Cruz, Lower and Upper Macungie and the Woodlawn cascade unit responded to the fire. City of Allentown firefighters were on hand as a rapid intervention team to help firefighters at the scene. Nosal said approximately 75 firefighters responded to the scene.

Firefighters knocked down the fire in about an hour, Nosal said. The chances of flare ups and fire burning beneath collapsed sections of the building kept a truck and personnel from Lower Macungie at the fire scene until about 10 a.m. May 13.

Chief Nosal described the strategy used to battle the blaze as a "defensive attack" meaning firefighters did not enter the structure.

"We surround it and hit it with water," Nosal said of the strategy.

Firefighters connected hose from three hyrdants, including a hydrant on the property of nearby Bethany Church and another hydrant at Eyer Middle School, an effort requiring 2300 feet of supply hose, Nosal said.

Lower Macungie Township firefighters used equipment capable of putting 1000 gallons a minute of water on a fire. However, Nosal said, maintaining a supply of such an amount of water is a challenge. Fire trucks cannot carry water in such amounts to a fire scene so hydrants are necessary and hose must be run to those hydrants, often requiring fire hose be placed in the street, a time consuming process.

Multiple water sources were needed to address the Buckeye Tavern fire.

"Copious amounts of water applied consistently and constantly" were required to tackle the blaze, Nosal continued.

No firefighters, restaurant patrons or employees were hurt.