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 January 21, 2004
(WIVB, Channel 4)
Suspicious Fire
at Popular Restaurant
(Lancaster, NY, January 21, 2004) - - There
are questions Wednesday night about a suspicious fire at a popular
restaurant in the Village of Lancaster. The overnight blaze severely
damaged the kitchen at Eddie Ryan's. News 4's Luke Moretti
has the very latest on the fire investigation.
Eddie Ryan's, a popular Central Avenue
restaurant is closed because of fire, an overnight fire that sent smoke
billowing and firefighters racing.
Asst. Fire Chief Tim Schaefer said,
"When I pulled up we had light smoke coming out of the rear
portion of the structure."
Town fire investigators tell me the blaze
appears suspicious, and say there are signs of a break in. They suspect
the fire started near a rear office area
Several surrounding fire companies were
brought in to assist in knocking back the flames. But Lancaster
firefighters got a pretty good start since their station is just a
block away.
One firefighter was treated for minor
injuries.
Schaefer said, "He fell partially
through the floor in the kitchen area. He was checked at the scene and
released. He required no transport."
Damage is said to be fairly extensive in the
kitchen area. There's some smoke and heat damage on the second
floor.
The photography studio next door suffered
minor damage. The owner credits the quick action of firefighters.
Sharleen Scholz
of Accent Photography said, "We just got some smoke damage and
some soot, otherwise thank the Lord for us, you know that it worked
out. Our clients can still come in."
Battling the blaze in freezing temperatures
was challenging. The additional resources provided needed relief for
crews working in the cold.
Schaefer said, "We want to make sure we
have fresh bodies so we keep rotating crews, guys that are all warmed
up, we send them out and just keep rotating them."
Investigators tell me the owners of Eddie
Ryan's are cooperating 100 percent with the investigation.
The owners tell me they hope to have the
place fixed up in a few weeks, and plan to re-open as soon as possible.
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