Flames shoot from roof of restaurant in Market Square in downtown Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — Crews battled a fire at the Winghart's restaurant in Market Square in Downtown Pittsburgh on Thursday.

PHOTOS: Fire damages Market Square restaurant 

Heavy smoke and flames could be seen coming from the roof of the building.

The owner of Winghart's, Shiv Bandhu, smelled smoke on the upper floors, but couldn't figure out where it was coming from -- so he called 911.

"I get on the phone with 911. Underneath the roof, I looked up and we actually see the flames starting to grow. We saw the flames for the first time," Bandhu said.

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Bandhu said there were only employees inside when the fire started, but they all got out OK.

"I was trying to stop it, I thought we could stop it. But we had no chance. It was out of control," Bandhu said.

One firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion, according to a spokesperson for Pittsburgh Public Safety.

“It was a fast attack, a quick knock-down and good aerial placement by truck company Number 4,” said Assistant Fire Chief Norman Auvil.

People from surrounding businesses had to be evacuated.

Fire investigators are working to figure out what started the fire.

This is the third fire at Winghart's since 2012.

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