Massive fire tears through popular Irish Pub in Carnegie

CARNEGIE, Pa. — Flames ripped through a popular Irish Pub in Carnegie on Thursday afternoon and the community is in disbelief.

PHOTOS: Flames rip through restaurant in Carnegie

Allegheny County dispatchers say police officers, firefighters and medics were called to Riley’s Pour House at 1:11 p.m.

Riley’s Pour House has been a Main Street staple since 1979. The fire reportedly started in the kitchen.

“It’s a sad day. Sad that it happened to them because they’re pretty good people in there,” Brandon Griffin said.

Photos shared with Channel 11 show that part of the pub was engulfed by flames. Half of the business completely burned down. The building was demolished Thursday night.

Pete Mullins, a Carnegie resident, and councilman stopped by after work Thursday.

He says Carnegie’s council president explained how those inside when the fire started got out safely.

“He said that people were filing out and it didn’t look like it was a situation where people were rushing out. It looked like everyone had time to get out,” Mullins said.

No one was hurt, but the building is a total loss. The fire spread to the buildings on both sides. Right now the extent of that damage isn’t known.

Carnegie neighbors are already coming together to help, especially for the employees.

“With the holidays right around the corner, it’s sad but you know there’s a couple other businesses in the area that have reached out already through social media. Said they have server positions they can try to squeeze them in,” Griffin said.

Riley’s Pour House took to social media, first to thank their patrons for their support and to assure them that staff is safe. In a second update, the pub said there have been reports of fake accounts posing as fundraising pages. The pub said they will share any legitimate fundraisers directly to their Facebook page.

“We kindly ask that you avoid donating to these fraudulent pages, as they are attempting to exploit our tragedy for personal gain. Thank you for your support and vigilance,” the post reads.

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