By Rick Wills
The Pittsburgh Tribune Review
MCKEES ROCKS, Pa. — A fast-moving fire swept through a McKees Rocks bar on Saturday, killing the owner and a man who lived above the bar.
Egidio Mattucci, 77, died in an ambulance shortly after firefighters pulled him out of the flames at 1021 Chartiers Ave., according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Mattucci was the longtime owner of Gino’s Tavern.
David Carr, 63 — who, like Mattucci, lived above the tavern — was dead when firefighters found him in bed.
Another person escaped from the building and was being treated for burns, 911 dispatchers said.
The three-alarm fire broke out about 12:20 a.m., according to McKees Rocks fire Chief Nicholas Radoycis Jr. Radoycis said he thought both victims were asleep. The bar was closed at the time.
The three-story brick building was engulfed when firefighters arrived, he said.
“Most of the windows had blown out,” Radoycis said. “There was lots of heat and pressure, and flames were rolling up the back side of the building when we got there.”
About 50 firefighters spent six hours putting out the blaze and then ensuring it was fully extinguished, he said. A section of the bar’s first floor collapsed.
The Allegheny County fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire, which Radoycis said started in the building’s basement.
“There was lots of rubble and clutter down there,” he said.
Mattucci had owned and operated the bar for at least 25 years, neighbors and customers said.
“I was in there (Friday). All of this is a bit much to imagine. That was less than 24 hours ago. He was always very nice to me. He was a nice individual,” said Dave Osterwise of Ingram, a regular customer at Gino’s.
Mattucci was known to neighbors and his customers simply as Gino. None even knew his last name.
“He kind of kept to himself, kind of private. He never wanted anyone to know when his birthday was, that kind of thing,” Osterwise said.
Neighbors were saddened by the deaths of the two men.
“It’s not a good way to start the year,” said Danny O’Donnell, who lives next door and knew Mattucci for many years.
“Gino was a good guy. If you needed a buck, he’d give you a buck. If you needed a six-pack, he’d give you a six-pack,” he said.
Copyright 2012 Tribune Review Publishing Company
All Rights Reserved