Robin Flaherty was glad the Strip District restaurant she owns was still intact when she arrived at the eatery on Monday afternoon after learning that the building had caught fire.
But the realization that, even with insurance to cover the damage, it could take several months to make repairs and reopen JoJo's brought her to tears.
"My father started this place in 1994. My kids grew up working here. This is all our family has," Flaherty said as firefighters prepared to use a chain saw to cut a section of the building's roof away so they could extinguish embers burning in the wooden ceiling joists.
"I don't know how bad it is in there yet, or what we're going to have to do to fix things, but we have to reopen," Flaherty said.
Pittsburgh fire Capt. Kurt Steigerwald said the initial investigation indicates that the fire started in an electrical panel on the first floor and spread into the ceiling and roof. Arson investigators were called to the scene at Smallman and 24th streets to investigate.
From the outside, the building that once served as an auto service station appeared to have escaped major damage beyond some shattered glass windows and doors.
Steigerwald said much of the damage was limited to the mess created by smoke and water. He did not know whether any of the restaurant equipment could be salvaged.
The fire was reported about 5:15 p.m. and was mostly out within half an hour. However, firefighters remained on the scene for several hours to ensure that flames did not rekindle.
