Fire Traps Pa. Firefighters, Damages Apparatus

A fire Saturday leveled a former Italian restaurant on Allegheny River Boulevard in Penn Hills and temporarily trapped firefighters inside before all got out safely.

Flames and smoke consumed the two-story building that once housed Vicino Ristorante Italiano. The fire started about 2 p.m. Authorities closed Allegheny River Boulevard between Sandy Creek Road and Washington Boulevard. It was expected to remain closed into Saturday night.

Penn Hills fire Chief Shawn Snyder said the building had a sub-basement firefighters didn't know about where the fire spread.

A firefighting crew was temporarily trapped when its members attempted to attack the fire from inside.

They escaped with only minor injuries and crews switched to an exterior attack.

Snyder said two firefighters sustained minor burns; another had more substantial burns to his face when the fire flared up and crews had to scramble to move their equipment further from the building. He was conscious and talking as medics took him to an ambulance to be transported to a local hospital.

Because there weren't enough fire hydrants in the vicinity of the restaurant, firefighters called in a convoy of about 10 water tankers from Allegheny and Westmoreland counties.

A tanker trailer from Pittsburgh International Airport was brought in so crews could switch to using foam on the remaining fire.

Firefighters scrambled to protect their equipment. With flames shooting several stories into the air, crews pulled equipment away from the building and sprayed hoses onto fire trucks to keep them cool until they could be moved further from the inferno.

Still, Snyder said two trucks were damaged by heat when the fire suddenly flared up and through the building's roof. A ladder truck from Penn Hills had heat damage along its passenger side, and its ladder would not fully retract, the chief said.

Penn Hills Fire Marshal Chuck Miller said the restaurant manager had been living in an apartment on the second floor of the building, but had left at about 11 a.m., before the fire was reported. He was eventually accounted for at the scene, Miller said.

The cause and origin of the fire had not been determined, Miller said.

Neighbors said the restaurant had been closed since late last year.

“Nobody wants to stop and eat here. You'd get killed pulling out of the parking lot,” neighbor Dave Duncan said, noting Vicino was the latest in a succession of businesses that operated at the location since the 1980s.

Property records indicate the building has apartments on the second floor and commercial space on the first floor.

Matthew Santoni is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at [email protected]. Staff writer Tom Fontaine contributed.

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