Fire devastates Barnaby’s restaurant in Havertown

A popular Delaware County eatery and nightspot went up in flames early Sunday morning.

Fire ripped through Barnaby’s of America Restaurant off West Chester Pike. Haverford Police Chief John Viola said police received multiple calls from passersby at 5:15 a.m. for a fire from the attached deck. First arriving crews found heavy fire from that part of the building. Firefighters checked the main restaurant for any employees still inside, and used large diameter hoses to attack the blaze, Viola said.

There were no injuries, although several cars that were left in the parking lot overnight were damaged by the intense heat from the flames that quickly consumed the large front deck of the restaurant.

Viola said a second alarm ten minutes into the fire brought fire companies from all five Haverford companies - Manoa, Brookline, Llanerch and Manoa as well as Garrettford Drexel Hill and Narberth ambulance to battle the blaze.

“My heart is broken,” said owner Bill Daley as he stood in the parking lot with his employees surveying the damage. “We’ll be back. We’ve already started contacting contractors.

“Barnaby’s Havertown is like a person to me. It’s family. Everyone that works here is family,” Daley said.

The popular restaurant and nightspot - known for its spacious front deck that is usually packed in good weather - had more than 100 employees.

Daley said sprinklers activated in the main restaurant, which has extensive smoke and water damage. Daley said firefighters credited the sprinklers and the concrete ceiling for keeping the fire out of the main building.

A front-end loader was brought in to pull down the deck structure to allow firefighters to extinguish hidden hot spots.

Daley also owns Barnaby’s restaurants in Ridley, Aston and West Chester.

Viola said earlier in the evening, the night bartender had smelled an odor of smoke but couldn’t find anything. Viola noted there had been a number of mulch fires at the business in the last few days but said investigators are still looking into the cause.

Investigators are searing for the cause of the disaster.

That did not stop the heartache as members of the community stopped by to view the damage done to one of their favorite spots along West Chester Pike.

PETE BANNAN — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Barnaby’s of America was the scene of a massive blaze early Sunday morning.

PETE BANNAN – DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Manoa firefighters hose down the remains of Barnaby’s restaurant on West Chester Pike in Haverford following a deck fire which extensively damaged the building. There were no injuries.