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.
Firefighters were called to the Jefferson County Industrial Park off outer Coffeen Street to Allied Motion a little before 3 p.m.
Fire officials told 7 News a spark from equipment in a testing and quality control room set off a small fire above a drop-down ceiling.
The sprinkler system put out the fire, but firefighters had to do smoke removal.
Fire officials say damage was moderate. The building was evacuated.
Deputy Chief Wayne Friedman says it started in the ductwork of the restaurant and was put out quickly around 3 p.m. by the building’s sprinkler system.
Thankfully, no one was injured in the fire and damage was kept to a minimum.
The Cortland County Health Department also responded and will now have to clear the restaurant for cleanliness before it can reopen to customers.
It will also follow up on any necessary structural repairs that need to be made.
Officials say the fire began around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday. The fire department evacuated a wing of the 10th floor, opening a nearby senior center to those who were displaced.
Many returned to their apartments by several hours later. Officials say everyone should be able to return to their apartments by the end of the day, except for those in the unit where the fire broke out. That apartment has smoke and water damage.
The cause of the fire is still unknown, but the apartment supervisor says the sprinkler system did go off. Some of that water has filtered down from the 10th to the first floor, where service crews are working to clean it up.
The Red Cross is at the scene assisting those residents still displaced from their apartments.
On Sunday, just before 1 p.m., Ithaca Firefighters, along with Cornell University Environmental Health and Safety workers to the Alice Cook House, a residential dorm on University Avenue for a kitchen fire. The cause of the fire was found to be boxes left on the stove which ignited, setting the third-floor kitchen ablaze. Luckily, a working sprinkler system was in place and kept the fire at bay until firefighters were able to arrive on the scene.
A blaze at the Beer Depot was reported at 12:41 AM, both by alarms in the building and passersby who saw thick smoke billowing out the front and rear of the building.
No one was inside the building at the time and firefighters were able to bring the fire under control.
A sprinkler system helped to keep it from spreading to the adjacent Lane’s Liquor Store, although that building did suffer smoke damage.
Fire officials say they believe they have narrowed down the cause, which does not appear to be suspicious, but need to await a visit tomorrow by investigators from the News State Department of Ag and Markets, before officially releasing a cause.
