Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant Escondido, CA – Kitchen fire at restaurant suppressed by sprinkler system November 16, 2017 viking210 A kitchen fire damaged a Mexican eatery in Escondido, but a sprinkler system helped suppress the flames before firefighters arrived and made quick work of it, a battalion chief said Thursday. The blaze was reported just after 10 p.m. Wednesday at Paulita’s Restaurant at 636 N. Broadway, Escondido Battalion Chief Art Holcomb said. The first crews on scene found smoke coming from a large vent pipe on the roof of the small diner that was already closed for the night. “The units on scene made access to the building and located a small fire that was being held in check by a commercial kitchen suppression system,” Holcomb said. “Aggressive action by the firefighters contained and controlled the fire in approximately 20 minutes.” The cause of the fire was still under investigation Thursday, but it likely started near a stove in the kitchen, Holcomb said. Firefighters reported moderate damage to the kitchen and minor to moderate smoke damage throughout the rest of the restaurant. No injuries were reported and there was no immediate estimate of the cost of damages
