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Early Thursday fire at Powerhouse bar was arson, Warren fire chief says
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
A large 4:30 a.m. fire Thursday at the Powerhouse bar on Mahoning Avenue apparently was intentionally set.
Ken Nussle, Warren fire chief, said the Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office has told the Warren Fire Department that a flammable liquid was used to start the fire and it had multiple “points of origin.”
Confirmatory testing on materials taken from the bar will be done in the fire marshal’s crime lab in Reynoldsburg, Nussle said.
No one was injured.
The building sustained about $100,000 worth of damage. Much of it was in the bar area, which Nussle said would make it difficult for the bar to reopen very soon.
Nussle said his department called for fire marshal’s investigators because of the large amount of damage.
The fire destroyed the contents of the bar area and damaged much of the building, causing smoke damage throughout, even fire in the roof. The building has two floors. The bar takes up about half of the building.
“I just wish I knew what happened,” said Wendy Davidson, an owner of the bar as she and others stood in the parking lot watching firefighters remove their equipment after the fire was extinguished. “We’re not allowed in.”
She and her husband, Mark Davidson, own the bar.
The Powerhouse was in the news earlier this week because of an early-Tuesday shooting that the victim said took place there. Warren Councilman Al Novak said it was another example of too much violence at the bar.
Novak and other members of city council took action this summer to non-renew the bar’s liquor license.
Firefighters were at the scene for about three hours. When they first arrived, there was heavy black smoke that extended several blocks south.
The lack of visibility was caused by the smoke and moist atmosphere from this morning’s rain. Nussle added that the thickness of the smoke made it difficult to tell on which side of the road the burning building was.
The state Fire Marshal’s Fire and Explosion Investigations Bureau is asking for tips from the public. A reward of up to $5,000 is being offered by the Blue Ribbon Arson Committee for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the fire.
Anyone with information is asked to call the State Fire Marshal’s Fire and Explosion Investigation Bureau at 800-589-2728.