Fire destroys banquet hall, clubhouse at Beaver Co. country club

AMBRIDGE, Pa. — Part of a country club collapsed Monday as firefighters fought a blaze in Beaver County.

Heavy smoke and flames were seen coming from the main clubhouse roof of Harmony Ridge Country Club in Ambridge, about 16 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.

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The fire at the club on Breitenstein Road in Harmony Township broke out at dawn. Fire officials said the blaze was brought under control after about two hours.

"The second floor collapsed into the first floor. There is a tremendous amount of water damage and smoke throughout the rest of the building," Harmony Fire Chief  Jim Curcio said.

Channel 11's Joe Holden reported that firefighters brought in extra water to battle the blaze because of low water pressure in the area.

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State fire marshals have been called to investigate, but firefighters believe that the flames started accidentally in the basement.

The club is home to a golf course. The building affected by the fire has been used as an event venue and houses a pub, a banquet hall and a ballroom.

Channel 11’s Amy Marcinkiewicz has learned that the club has a full schedule. They’re busy every night this week, with parties on the weekend. The owners are scrambling to figure out what to do.

Dr. Matt Erickson told Marcinkiewicz that he’s been planning his mother's and father’s retirement party for months at the club.

“I really do feel for the owners. Now I wonder what we’re going to do,” Erickson said.

The owners told Channel 11 News that they plan to rebuild.

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“We’re going to try to keep this open as much as we can. The owners are working on this right now and hope to get an answer by tomorrow,” groundskeeper Shane Miller said.

The Erickson retirement party is set for Sunday -- but Matt said he’s already thinking of a backup plan, and he hopes the owners are, too.

“We are resilient people. We’ll figure this out, and hopefully it will all work out,” he said.

The owners are calling everyone with reservations and hope to have answers by Tuesday.

A separate building on the property that houses an ice cream shop and restrooms was not damaged.

WPXI