Investigators are looking into what started a fire at a restaurant on Mackinac Island.
Crews were called to the Village Inn just around 10:45 Wednesday night.
Firefighters evacuated several people on the second floor of the building.
Fire fighters were able to put out the fire on the first floor with help from the restaurant’s sprinkler system.
There is no word on what started it, but the Mackinac Island Fire Department says it is not considered suspicious.
YFD personnel found the Del Taco filled with smoke coming from a commercial walk-in freezer unit.
YFD says the fire began in the freezer unit and had been extinguished by the sprinkler system.
YFD Fire Inspectors arrived shortly after the alarm sounded and shut down power to the freezer and the water supply to the sprinkler system.
Firefighters confirmed the fire did not spread from the original wiring where the fire started.
The flame only set back taco sales for a few hours, as the Del Taco was able to reopen a short time later in the afternoon.
YFD says fire systems can keep fires from spreading and can also extinguish them.
Thanks to the sprinkler system, this Yuma Del Taco wasn’t destroyed.
The fire happened at about 8:20 p.m. and caused a sprinkler system to activate, Grand Rapids fire officials said.
The fire, on the first floor, was quickly extinguished and no one was injured. Firefighters also quickly shut off the sprinkler system.
It wasn’t immediately clear if any operations at The B.O.B. would be disrupted because of the fire.
Las Vegas Fire and Rescue says a sprinkler system in the store extinguished the fire in a fryer at a McDonald’s restaurant inside the store.
Palmer’s Deli on Ingersoll Avenue is closed Thursday following an evening fire.
According to officials, calls came in shortly after 10:30 p.m. when people passing by saw the alarms going off.
The small fire was contained by a single sprinkler. Fire officials are investigating what caused a small fire Wednesday night
“The sprinkler system actually kept the fire in check,” he said. “If it wasn’t for the sprinkler system, the damage would have been far, far worse. … It would have most likely spread to the adjacent businesses.”
Fire crews responded at 8:22 p.m. Tuesday to a report of a fire alarm activation at the Twin City Town Center on Northwest Louisiana Avenue in Chehalis, according to Lewis County 911 records.
While firefighters were on the way, they started getting reports of water flowing out of the affected business, then smoke.
“Just prior to arriving they saw a column coming up which bumped it up to a second alarm response,” Cardinale said.
Fire crews from Napavine to Thurston County responded, he said, and entered the Kobo Teriyaki building to find an active fire. The sprinkler system had kept the fire controlled, and firefighters quickly extinguished what remained. Crews were on site until about 11:45 p.m.
This is a huge point,” Cardinale said.
While builders might cringe at the added cost of a fire suppression system, Cardinale said, it doesn’t cost as much as they might think, and can potentially save a building in the event of a fire.
“Actually on residential new construction it only adds an additional 50 cents per square foot for a home,” he said. “The advantages of a sprinkler system is over 90 percent of the time if an occupancy has a sprinkler system and the fire does occur it will keep the fire in its incipient stage, or small stage, until firefighters arrive.”
Kobo Teriyaki’s building was damaged by the fire and smoke, and neighboring Rue 21 and PetSense both suffered water damage.
Cardinale said investigators were on the scene Wednesday morning, and that the preliminary investigation points to the fire being electrical in nature.
The fire likely caused $30,000 to $50,000 in damage, he added.
Staff has worked hard over the past two days, and the restaurant plans to reopen Friday morning.
“We were here from early morning (Wednesday) to 6 or 7 p.m., and then all day today cleaning everything up,” waiter Alex Armeta said.
The sprinkler system flooded the business with a couple inches of water but prevented the fire from spreading, Armeta said.
Vancouver firefighters were dispatched shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday to the Bridgeport Retail Center at 316 S.E. 123rd Ave., for a report of a water flow alarm.
The first fire crew to arrive found water on the floor and smoke in Lindo Mexico, Vancouver Fire Department firefighter Eva Scherer said. Crews requested an upgrade to a commercial fire response for additional resources, she said.
One occupant evacuated from the restaurant, and businesses adjacent to the restaurant were also evacuated as a precaution, Scherer said.
Firefighters extinguished a wood stove that was burning and noted several sprinkler head activations in the restaurant and water throughout the structure. They remained on scene to help with water removal from the building.
Fire damage was confined to a garbage can, pull station for a kitchen hood fire extinguishing system, nearby supplies and a serving counter, Vancouver Fire Marshal Heidi Scarpelli said. There was water and smoke damage throughout the rest of the suite, but no other businesses were affected, Scarpelli said.
The fire was caused when the business owner placed ashes from the wood pellet-fired stove into a garbage can in the kitchen. The owner then left the restaurant to get supplies and returned after fire crews had arrived, according to the fire marshal.
The incident caused $58,510 worth of damage, Scarpelli said. The sprinklers likely saved about $5.8 million in potential total loss to the building and its contents, she said.
Once on the scene, firefighters found heavy smoke conditions in the building and sprinkler activation inside the restaurant.
After forcing their way into the restaurant, crews were able to douse the flames in the kitchen area and return to the station by 5:30 a.m.
The building received heavy smoke and water damage.
No word on when the restaurant will be able to reopen.
When firefighters got to the scene, they saw the smoke and had to track down the flames. The fire was contained to a storage room in the back of the restaurant. Fire officials say a ceiling sprinkler system helped to contain the fire to the area and ultimately helped firefighters put out the flames.
A fire investigator was called to the scene to try and determine a cause.
Some neighboring stores did have smoke damage. There is no word when the restaurant will open back up.
The car ended up completely inside Mike’s Pizza at 315 Union St. after the crash, which happened around 11:50 p.m. The vehicle was on fire before firefighters doused the flames, authorities said.
The driver, identified as 40-year-old Rockland resident Lauren Hutcheon, was out of the vehicle by the time officers arrived. She received aid before being taken to a local hospital, police said.
Neighbors Jason Webb and his fiancee said they heard the crash and came running to help.
“I’m looking out my window and saw flames before I even got her out of the car,” Webb said. “It was instant flames.”
Before crews even arrived, the restaurant’s sprinkler system went off and helped keep the flames from spreading.
“She actually opened the driver side door herself, threw herself on the ground and screamed, ‘help me, help me,’ as we were running up there,” Webb said.
Hutcheon was charged with speeding, failure to stop, negligent operation and driving under the influence, among other charges.
Firefighters arrived at the pizza shop shortly after midnight and successfully extinguished the flames, searched the building and temporarily evacuated the apartments above the shop, according to the Rockland Fire Department.
Ron Lopes, the owner of the pizza shop, had to close Monday due to the damage. He said he’s just glad nobody was inside the restaurant when the crash happened.
“Glad nobody was hurt,” Lopes said. “It’s mostly just a mess.”
Lopes said he hopes to have the doors back open before Halloween.
Hutcheon is expected to appear in court sometime in the next few weeks.
“Luckily she wasn’t hurt more seriously. Three feet to the right she would have hit a steel beam,” Lopes said.
The incident remains under investigation.
