Norwich Friendly's temporarily closed after 2 fires
Norwich — The Friendly’s restaurant on West Town Street is closed temporarily after two pieces of cooking equipment caught fire in two separate incidents Sunday, according to Yantic Fire Chief Frank Blanchard.
Blanchard said a manager of the 105 W. Town St. restaurant reported the first blaze at 5:47 p.m. and described it as a gas hood fire.
A patron of the restaurant extinguished the fire before firefighters arrived, Blanchard said. The flames didn’t spread beyond the hood system.
Officials evacuated the restaurant and closed it for the evening so employees could clean up and conduct repairs. Fire crews remained on scene about an hour and 20 minutes, Blanchard said.
The second fire call came at 10:39 p.m. as workers were restoring the equipment.
According to Blanchard, a giant bucket, which was filled with the grease and other waste from a gas-fed flattop fryer, caught fire and ignited the area just behind the fryer. Firefighters quickly put out the blaze on arrival.
Blanchard said there appeared to be a gas leak in the back portion of the fryer. Norwich Public Utilities helped secure the scene.
The Yantic, East Great Plains and Mohegan Tribal fire departments responded to both calls. Colchester firefighters additionally responded to the second blaze because it was reported that it had spread to the building. Crews spent about two hours on scene.
Friendly’s will remain closed until its equipment is deemed repaired and its kitchen and dining areas have been cleared of the dry chemical agent used to quash the fires. Blanchard said the fire marshal and health and building officials were scheduled to look at the restaurant Monday.
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