Crews battle fire at former McKeesport tattoo shop, apartment building

MCKEESPORT, Pa. — Emergency crews are battling a fire at a building in McKeesport that houses a former tattoo shop and apartments.

PHOTOS: Crews battle fire at McKeesport tattoo shop, apartment building

Allegheny County dispatchers said police, fire and EMS units were called to Versailles Avenue just before 7 a.m.

“The sirens woke me up, and my dog woke me up too,” said Darlene Milslagle, a nearby neighbor.

Smoke billowed from the windows of the building Tuesday morning, the former site of Omerta Ink, a tattoo shop on the first floor, and apartments upstairs.

“The building was reported to have been occupied. There is an occupant who does come and go. As far as we know, the business on the first floor is no longer operating,” said Chief Jeffrey Tomovcsik of the McKeesport Fire Department.

Crews were called around 6:45 a.m. and had the fire under control in less than an hour.

“They went to work and prevented what would have been a big disaster this morning,” said Matthew Thomason, who owns a building nearby. “It was a bad sight to see.”

“We were able to get here, establish a water supply, get water on the fire rather quickly, so it was a pretty effective operation,” Tomovcsik said.

Investigators with the Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s office are looking into all possible causes but would not comment if there’s any indication it’s suspicious.

McKeesport’s fire chief told Channel 11 there are working utilities in the building. Right now, many questions remain, but neighbors are grateful for the response.

“You got houses, you got people…all the way up to the convenience store, all the way down. If this response team wasn’t here, it would have been some trouble,” Thomason said.

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