BROWNSVILLE, Pa. — Emergency crews were called to the scene of a building fire in Brownsville on Sunday evening.
The fire started in an apartment above Pickers Pub & Grub in the 100 block of Bank Street around 5:30 p.m.
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For the last five years, Pickers Pub and Grub has been a Brownsville community staple, jam-packed with hundreds of vintage signs and customers on Steeler Sundays. On this particular Game Day, the restaurant was closed.
“We had a scheduled power outage here yesterday. All of the power came back on in the town, but the power did not come on in our building,” said Jaymee Lutes, co-owner of Pickers Pub and Grub.
Tenants said they heard a loud boom and then saw flames. The owners of Pickers told Channel 11 that the fire is believed to have started on the second floor of the building, leaving several families homeless and their beloved business closed.
“That was our biggest concern when we found out this happened, just making sure everybody got out,” said Ron White Jr., co-owner of Pickers Pub and Grub.
A Channel 11 crew at the scene learned a firefighter was injured during the response and taken to a local hospital.
While the fate of the building remains unknown and the cause is under investigation, the pub’s owners are glad everyone is okay and thankful for the community’s support.
“The phone calls, the text messages, the posts on our Facebook page, it’s just an outpouring of love. What can we do? How can we help?” Lutes said.
The owners plan to start a GoFundMe page to assist the families who lost their homes.
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