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Dec. 04--MEADVILLE -- "It was very smoky. You couldn't see your hand in front of your face," Darren Hall, a Meadville Central Fire Department firefighter, said following Saturday morning's fire at a downtown Meadville fast-food restaurant.
Two workers at Long John Silver's, 1043 Park Ave., were preparing to open the restaurant for the day when a grease fire broke out just after 10 a.m., Hall said. There were no customers in the building, just the two employees -- a man and a woman.
The two employees were able to escape the building unharmed, though the unidentified male employee was taken to Meadville Medical Center as a precaution for stress. The man was later released, Hall said.
The fire is considered accidental.
"It started in one of the fryers," said Hall. "We're not sure if it (hot oil) splashed out or what exactly."
The greasy mixture caught numerous small areas of the kitchen near the fryers on fire, generating a lot of thick smoke inside the enclosed building, according to Hall, who was one of several firemen who fought the blaze inside the building using an air mask.
The blaze was confined to the kitchen area at the rear of the restaurant, but there was heavy smoke damage throughout the approximate 1,200-square-foot building, Hall said.
An officer from Meadville Police Department assisted the fire department in breaking out windows in the building so firefighters inside could see.
One unidentified man sustained a knee injury, but was released after treatment at Meadville Medical Center, Hall said.
Firemen returned to quarters at 12:50 p.m. and the building was boarded up Saturday afternoon. Hall said fire department officials didn't know Saturday if it was a franchise or company-owned store.
Meadville Central was called to the scene along with West Mead 1, West Mead 2, Vernon Central and Saegertown volunteer fire departments. Vernon Township Volunteer Fire Department was on standby in the city while Meadville fought the fire.
Keith Gushard can be reached at 724-6370 or by email at [email protected].
