Smythe Street blaze proves to be minor
Sunday night fire at Pizza Hut/Osmow’s Shawarma initially believed to be in ductwork, but city fire department reports it was in air-handling unit that made it look worse than it was
Personnel from all four fire stations in the capital responded to an uptown business Sunday for what fortunately proved to be a minor incident.
Numerous Fredericton Fire Department vehicles were on the scene at the Pizza Hut location at the top of Smythe Street on Sunday night, and firefighters could be seen being elevated to fight the fire from above.
The business also boasts new signage indicating another chain - Osmow’s Shawarma - is setting up shop in the location.
Assistant deputy fire chief David McKinley told the Fredericton Independent on Sunday evening that the call came in at 7:19 p.m.
He said the fire was reported initially to be in the ductwork at the business.
However, when following up Monday morning, McKinley noted that the fire investigator reported that the fire had also been in an air-handling unit.
The flames had reached the ductwork, he said, the air-handling unit pushed the smoke through those ducts as well, making the situation appear more serious than it was.
Firefighters were able to determine quickly that the fire hadn’t penetrated into the building itself, the assistant deputy chief said, noting that one of the trucks returned to its station less than a half hour after arriving.
“Firefighters were on scene for just over an hour and the scene was turned over to the fire investigator,” he said. “No injuries were reported.”
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.