A truck on fire behind O’Kelley’s Sports Bar in Winfield forced the evacuation of the tavern Wednesday evening. The fire was extinguished easily and damage was confined to the charred vehicle.
The Winfield Fire Department responded to a call around 5:30 p.m. and arrived to find a white Ford flatbed pickup on fire. Investigators were still trying to determine what caused the blaze which occurred near an area behind the bar where some remodeling was being done.
It was not immediately clear who owned the truck.
Around a dozen or so people appeared to have left the bar and a few second-floor housing units nearby. No one was injured and people were allowed back inside by 6 p.m. O’Kelley’s occupies two buildings in the 1000 block of Main.
Blake and Kelly Porter recently took ownership of the stone buildings that O’Kelley’s has occupied for more than 10 years. The Porters have owned the business for its entire existence but had leased the buildings until late September of this year.
The couple is planning to add a kitchen area to their business which will become known as O’Kelley’s Sports Bar & Grill sometime next month.
