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Homewood Bar Destroyed By Morning Fire

HOMEWOOD (KDKA) - Thick flames destroyed a bar and sparked a lot of concern early Monday morning in Homewood.

According to officials at the scene, the fire started around 3:45 a.m. at The Mansion in the 7300-block of Idlewild Street.

The building was a clubhouse and after-hours bar for the Brotherhood Motorcycle Club.

When firefighters got to the scene, their only objective was to keep it from spreading to any other structures.

"The light. The light and the crackle of the fire," Gregg Easton said.

The fire is what got Easton out of bed as the flames threatened the building where he lives.

"Just had to get my brother, that's all. There was another fire up in New York that killed my brother. My other friend, he got caught in a fire, so I had to get him out," Easton said.

"It was like a thick, gray, black smoke. You could tell because I was having a hard time breathing. It must a been a pretty good amount of fire going back there," George Easton said.

It was and the fire wanted to keep spreading

"As they entered the alley, the fire actually started a building across the alley on fire. Directly next door to the building that was on fire, there's a senior citizens center. We understand the City Parks have been using it as a cooling center during the day. It's unoccupied in the evening," Deputy Fire Chief Dan Hennessy said.

For a time, firefighters were concerned that the Homewood Senior Citizens Activity Center would catch fire. Fortunately, it didn't.

In the daylight, the fire erupted again and thick, black smoke poured from the building with flames once again causing problems.

Firefighters were eventually able to get the rekindled fire under control, but the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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