Carnegie fire kills one, damages longtime restaurant site
One person has died from a fire at an apartment building in Carnegie that houses the longtime Papa J’s restaurant.
The building sits in the middle of Carnegie’s business district.
“It was absolutely devastating,” Carnegie Mayor Stacie Riley said of the fire. “We are going to get a plan together to try and figure out what we’re going to do.”
Carnegie police Chief Jeffrey Kennedy said that the borough called in the Allegheny County Fire Marshal and county police homicide detectives, but at this point he knows of no indication that the fire was intentionally set. “At this time, they don’t expect foul play. They’re leaning toward accidental,” the chief said Saturday about the fire that broke out around 10:20 p.m. Friday.
The building has apartments on the upper floors and Papa J’s restaurant on the first floor at 200 E. Main St.
The county medical examiner’s office Saturday evening identified the fire victim as John Wells, 64. A release said he was found unresponsive and died in a hospital.
One victim was taken in critical condition to St. Clair Hospital and then transferred to UPMC Mercy, according to police, but it was unclear if that was the person who died.
Allegheny County announced Saturday afternoon that Carnegie Fire units were back on the scene because the fire may have re-kindled. The county indicated that 25 residents have been displaced, and the Red Cross is helping them.
East Main Street remains closed until the borough can dispatch engineers to check the damaged building’s integrity and to determine what must be done to secure the scene, according to Chief Kennedy.
Several fire companies responded to the blaze at Broadway Avenue and East Main Street.
Fire crews were blasting the rooftop of the building with hoses from three ladders as dozens of residents stood on the streets and sidewalks in close proximity, watching crews fight the blaze.
“The fire department did a fantastic job,” said Chief Kennedy. “The whole block could’ve gone up.”
“I would also like to put a shout out to all of the [area] fire departments,” said borough council president Sue Demko. “There were so many out there, and they were there all night.”
Beth Doyle, a server at Papa J’s,
said she was at a loss for words as she watched crews battle the blaze.
“I’m not going to have anywhere to go tomorrow night,” she said.
Ms. Doyle said she was working when a manager came into the restaurant about 10:20 p.m. and said the building was on fire.
Restaurant employees and patrons quickly fled. Some employees went to upper floors of the building and knocked on doors to alert residents.
Papa J’s “had to come back in ‘04 from the flood” that followed Hurricane Ivan, said Ms. Riley. Since then, it has been a leader in the business district’s revitalization.
She said she spoke with restaurant owner Michael Troiani on Saturday. “It was encouraging to hear him say that he’s resilient. And Carnegie is resilient, too. ... We have a commitment from the borough to help in any way possible.”
The borough’s residents and churches are also rallying around the building’s tenants, she said.
Michael Sarsfield, chair of the borough council’s Public Safety Committee, said that the fire appears to have started in one of the apartments in the building, not in the restaurant.
He said borough officials hope that the Troiani family, who have long operated Papa J’s in the heart of the borough, choose to rebuild. “We’re very thankful and appreciative to have them here,” he said. “They built quite a legacy in our community.”
Papa J’s was founded in 1989.
“That building has been there for a hundred years, so we’re hoping that it can continue to be,” said Ms. Demko. “That building, the Troianis who own it, are a big, big part of our community. ... We will do anything and everything that we can do to help them and to be there for them.”
She said council will be discussing the future of the site at its meeting Monday. In the meantime, staff are accepting donations at the borough building to help the displaced tenants or the restaurant.
— Sue Demko, Borough Council President “That building has been there for a hundred years, so we’re hoping that it can continue to be.”