Crews battle fire at Old Westinghouse Castle

WILMERDING, Pa. (KDKA) — Crews battled a fire at the former Westinghouse Castle building Friday afternoon.

The fire broke out around 1:30 p.m. at the building on Commerce Street in Wilmerding. The building is now home to a charter school and is undergoing renovations. It's unclear how the damage might impact classes in the fall.

Photos from the scene show smoke coming from the roof as well as flames.

There were people inside at the time, but they managed to get out safely. It is not known what started the fire, but it appears to have started on an unoccupied floor that was undergoing renovations.

“When I first came out, I saw all these fire trucks and I thought it was my building. I start smelling smoke. I go down and I can't even get out of the parking lots, whatever, because there's so many fire trucks,” said Michael Poindexter, who lives nearby.

“The Statue of Liberty was holding a lighter, that’s what it looked like,” Poindexter said.

George Westinghouse was headquartered in the castle, the executive director of the Westinghouse Arts Academy told PTL in January. The original part of the building was built in the 1890s. It was rebuilt after another fire and an extension was added later, he said.

The Westinghouse Arts Academy expanded its campus into the building in 2021.

The fire chief is now tasked with determining how the historic landmark caught fire.