Community rallies around Ida's Place owner after fire destroys iconic Arnold restaurant

ARNOLD, Pa. — A day after a fire destroyed an iconic restaurant in Arnold, the community is rallying around the owner of Ida’s Place to help her get back on her feet.

• RAW VIDEO: Firefighters battle flames at Ida's Place in Arnold

Firefighters were called around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday to Ida’s Place on Fifth Avenue.

Video from Chopper 11 showed heavy smoke pouring from windows on the building's upper floors, and flames shooting out the back. The three-story building is in a row of businesses in Arnold's commercial district.

The flames spread to a second building and took more than two hours to extinguish.

Arnold Mayor Karen Peconi-Biricocchi told TribLIVE that the blaze appears to have started from grease fire in the restaurant's kitchen, which is on the first floor toward the rear of the building.

The restaurant has been operated by Ida Peluso for 35 years, according to Channel 11's news partners at

. Peluso made it out of the building unharmed; no one else was injured.

Not even 24 hours after the devastating fire, Channel 11 News found people on Thursday scrubbing soot off pictures that hung on the walls of Ida's Place.

"She's just lost. This has been her life for 35-plus years. She misses her customers. She's just lost right now,” family friend Matt Colaianni said. "Once Ida makes a decision of what she wants to do, we’re trying to pay it forward to her for everything she's done for us."

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has been set up for donations to help Ida’s Place recover from the fire damage. As of Thursday afternoon, $5,000 had already been raised.

Cox Media Group