Pharmacy Rises Again After Arson

A pharmacy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, almost didn’t make it to its 30th anniversary after arsonists snuck in and caused a fire that destroyed the building in July 2014.

Seven months later, however, owner Don Waltmire cut the ribbon to the brand new Waltmire Pharmacy in the same footprint as the wrecked building, CBS Pittsburgh reported.

At the time of the fire, Waltmire said his biggest concern were the prescriptions left in the building, which would pose a big problem to his customers. He also knew that he didn’t want the arsonists to end the legacy of Waltmire Pharmacy.

“The only thing I can do now is to rebuild, because I was not going to let an arson tell me when to walk away from my store,” Waltmire told CBS Pittsburgh.

And rebuild, he did. The pharmacy was able to celebrate its 30th anniversary this month, and with the business up and running again, Waltmire can retire and let the new owner, Fred DePasquale, carry on the torch, so to speak.

CBS Pittsburgh reported that Waltmire plans to retire at the end of February. The pharmacy’s name will stay the same under the new ownership.

In July, WPXI reported that surveillance tapes showed several individuals running away from the building after a fire began taking hold of Waltmire Pharmacy around 1 a.m. No one has been arrested for the fire, but police have narrowed down their list of suspects, CBS Pittsburgh reported.