Patrick McGovern's Pub in St. Paul catches fire from downed power lines after crash

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - An iconic St. Paul bar and restaurant is severely damaged after downed power lines started a fire in the building's turret.

What we know

The St. Paul Fire Department said crews responded to Patrick McGovern's Pub on West 7th Street in St. Paul just before midnight on Friday.

Firefighters then extinguished the fire in the attic space.

The pub posted that the fire was caused by a "careless driver" who struck a power line and caused a transformer to catch fire before they fled the scene.

The downed power lines then made contact with the building, which investigators believe started the blaze, according to the St. Paul Fire Department. 

No injuries were reported, but the fire department said the building suffered "extensive water damage."

The building at West 7th Street and Chestnut was built in 1888 and has hosted Patrick McGovern's Pub since 1982, according to the company's website.

Police investigation

Police say they responded to a reported rollover crash near the intersection of Irvine Avenue and Ramsey Street around 11:45 p.m. Friday. 

Officers then found an unoccupied Honda Ridgeline, several live downed power lines and a burning transformer at the scene of the crash. 

Police say they then worked with firefighters and Xcel Energy crews to shut down the power and remove the Honda.

Authorities say the driver was not found, and they do not know if there were any injuries from the crash or if anyone else was inside the Honda.

At the same time, police responded to another downed power line near West 7th Street and Chestnut Street, where Patrick McGovern's Pub is located.

Police say the Good Samaritan who reported the fire was also using his vehicle to block the road and stop anyone from coming into contact with the downed power line. 

Power outage due to crash

After the vehicle crashed into multiple utility poles, it caused a power outage that affected about 9,200 customers in St. Paul, officials at Xcel Energy said. 

Xcel says they were able to get the lights back on for "nearly all" the affected customers within 90 minutes of the incident, which they did by rerouting the power through other power lines in the area. 

Xcel expects to replace the damaged poles and fully restore power by Saturday evening. 

Officials say the force of the vehicles impact during the crash caused Xcel's electrical equipment to come into contact with the building that Patrick McGovern's Pub is in, causing the fire. 

What they are saying 

The owner of the pub, Pat Boemer, says that it has already reopened after the fire. 

"A friend of mine had a cleanup restoration company, and they were here until about 6:30 this morning cleaning up all the water," Boemer said. "We got cleaned up nice so we’re good to go." 

Boemer says that the fire didn't last very long, and didn't get into the inner part of the building. 

"We’ve got a few things that we have to run through the insurance, but for the most part nothing really got hurt," Boemer said.