2 Pittsburgh restaurants closed after fire days before Christmas
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Nana's Hot Dog Shop is just one of two restaurants busy boarding up and surveying the damage Tuesday.
This fire happened along Federal Street in the heart of the North Side. The damage is pretty extensive so both Nana's New York Hot Dogs and El Burro Uno are closed until further notice. It's a heartbreaking blow for these people just days before Christmas.
Smoke and flashing red lights filled Federal Street on the North Side Tuesday morning as firefighters climbed ladders in front of two local businesses.
"Everything. It's pretty extensive, just freezers, refrigeration, the grills, the fire, it's all pretty -- it's bad. We plan to rebuild. We're going to rebuild, we're going to reopen, that is the goal," said Danielle Fest, the daughter of the owners of Nana's New York Hot Dog.
Pittsburgh firefighters first saw the flames engulf the back porch, near the alleyway. People nearby say they often saw a man who lived in a tent near that back porch area.
Firefighters say they did find an unidentified man near the building dealing with smoke inhalation and cardiac issues, and they said he didn't live inside the building.
Danielle Fest says medics also took her dad Rich to the hospital.
"So my dad arrived and saw the fire and then he tried to put it out with an extinguisher and he realized it was too much for him to handle so he got my step-mom out of the building, just got them out and he went and got checked for burns on his hands but he's otherwise OK."
The fire quickly spread through the row home, up to the attic, impacting the restaurant next door. El Burro Uno posted to Facebook saying, "We sustained damage from a fire in the area & we aren't sure when we will be able to open again." They said their Regent Square location is open normal hours.
Firefighters say they'll now investigate.
Fest: "It's hard to say. I don't want to speculate or make assumptions without knowing for sure."
Reporter: "Just annoying the week of Christmas."
Fest: "Yes, extremely. Extremely annoying. It's frustrating and they have two employees here, one has two kids at home, so it's really difficult."
The owner of Nana's Hot Dog Shop is expected to be OK, as well as the man firefighters found outside.
Both businesses say they aren't sure how long they'll need to reopen, but they're waiting for the fire marshal Tuesday.