Pittsburgh Three Rivers Arts Festival visitors react to fire at food court

PITTSBURGH — A fire at the Pittsburgh Arts Fest sent visitors and vendors into a bit of a panic.

Pittsburgh Fire officials say the flames came from a propane tank at one of the food court tents near the corner of 8th St. and Ft. Duquesne Blvd, right in the middle of the festival’s downtown footprint.

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“I was scared because I’ve seen it before where they actually explode so we all smelled the gas and it was like hissing and stuff I was just scared it was going to explode or something, but luckily that didn’t happen,” said face paint and henna vendor Edyn Marsland.

According to Pittsburgh Fire Deputy Chief Bernard Mohan, a 28-year-old man working at the food tent was taken to Mercy Hospital in serious, but stable condition to be treated for second-degree burns to his arms and legs.

“We believe the propane cylinder that was involved may have been over-pressurized. That’s the preliminary report that we’re getting, therefore when it was exposed to the heat, it caught fire,” Mohan said.

Marsland saw it all unfold.

“We had just got set up right here and then it just kind of went up in flames. I saw the guy. He kind of jumped back and we all just started running,” Marsland described.

Once the fire was out and fire investigators were getting to work, just feet away, outside the police caution tape, Arts Fest got back to business.

“The festival continues uninterrupted. The schedule is on. Our food court is temporarily shut down. The festival continues. Come on down for the concerts,” said Derek Scalzott, the Senior Director of Communications and Marketing Management for Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, which organizes the event.

Visitors, like Kimberly Tymous, are also looking forward to the major downtown festival getting back on track.

“It really is a great event,” she said. “I love to see everybody come together in unity, enjoy the music, enjoy the festivities, buy art, eat out. I love it.”

Arts Fest runs through June 9.

The Allegheny County Health Department will determine when the food court is able to reopen.

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