Nanci Takash, a training director for the Mercer County Dog Training Club, said the club considers itself very lucky.

The nonprofit organization is fortunate, she said, because it hasn't missed one day of training despite being headquartered in the former South Pymatuning Elementary School that was scorched by a devastating blaze in the early morning hours of May 30.

"If you walked in our room right now, you wouldn't even know there was a fire," Mrs. Takash said. "None of our stuff suffered any damage ... It didn't affect us at all, other than us not having the building open."

That, she added, has forced the club to conduct its classes outside.

The club and Vath Audio Visuals were the only two businesses housed in the building owned by Sharpsville Area School District, but it hadn't been used for classes for two years. The district used the building for supply storage and as of last week was still assessing its damage.

At Vath's request, school directors last week terminated the business' lease with the district. Vath owner Mike Baird did not return calls seeking an update on the company.