It’s been a week since the popular banquet hall known as Harmar House was gutted by a fire.
PHOTOS: Crews battle fire at Hamar House
Channel 11 News caught up with the owner as he works to figure out what’s next for his business.
“It’s hard to believe that. I’m having such a hard time believing that my place burned to the ground...It’s hard to believe,” said Nick Futules.
Futules, an Allegheny County councilman, walked around this burned building and saw 31 years of his family business, gone.
“Quite frankly, it went up in one night and it’s sad,” said Futules.
The cause of the fire? Futules says spontaneous combustion from bar towels in a bin.
Futules took photos of all the damage inside.
“I’m having flashbacks of coming back to work, but there’s no work to come back to…it’s a mess,” said Futules.
For the past week, he’s been busy helping clients find new banquet space.
“I had 50 total banquets,” he says.
Those banquets and 12 weddings were scheduled through the end of the year.
Channel 11 spoke to Ashley Pometo last week.
“I really don’t know what I’m gonna do,” said Pometo.
She planned to get married at Harmar House. Some good news, Pometo has a new venue for her Sept. 23 wedding.
As for residents who lived in the adjacent apartments, they had to move.
“One went with his father, one went with his sister. I have four of my tenants. I own properties and homes,” said Futules, who’s grateful no one was injured.
Futules has insurance, but he says it’ll be weeks before agents can get inside to access the damage, so he really doesn’t know what will happen with his family business.
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