Pa. Smokehouse Fire 'Best-Smelling in Long Time'

NEW CASTLE, Pa. (AP) - Firefighters in Pennsylvania have managed to save 200 pounds of Polish sausage from what they're calling the best-smelling fire they've doused in years.

The New Castle News reports that firefighters responded about 11:30 a.m. Monday when a 20-by-20-foot smokehouse caught fire in the yard of Cash Koszela. He's a retired meat cutter who's been smoking his own sausage for about 30 years.

Firefighters say some grease caught fire when the smokehouse got too hot — about 300 degrees.

Koszela says it will cost about $3,000 to replace the smokehouse. It's actually a tin-lined walk-in cooler fed by smoke piped in from a fire pit.

Assistant Fire Chief David Joseph says, "This is definitely the best-smelling fire we've seen in a long time."