Shows at South Side's Rex Theater canceled until further notice after fire

PITTSBURGH — All shows at the Rex Theater in Pittsburgh’s South Side have been canceled after a fire broke out at the establishment Friday afternoon.

The fire started shortly before 2:30 p.m. Friday at the concert venue on East Carson Street, a portion of which was closed while fire crews remained at the scene.%

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Officials said an employee spotted the fire and called 911.

Gino Marci, who owns Gino’s Pizza next door, was also forced to evacuate.

“Yeah, I had a couple customers. We had to get them outside. We had a couple of orders we had to cancel, but they did a pretty good job, and everything is safe right now,” Marci said.

Although fire crews on scene said it appeared the fire may have started in an air condition unit, investigators have not made an official ruling.

“This building takes up about two thirds of the block, so if we had a raging fire, if someone had not notified the authorities early like they did here, we could've had a significant fire,” Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Sonya Toler said.

No injuries were reported.

Channel 11’s Melanie Gillespie learned that no shows will take place at the Rex Theater while workers assess the damage above the stage.

Cox Media Group