ARLINGTON – The Popeye’s Restaurant at 535 Haight Avenue (eastbound arterial) suffered extensive damage as a result of a fire on Wednesday night.
Arlington firefighters were dispatched to the reported fire at 9:23 pm and the first fire engine was on scene within two minutes of receiving the assignment. The caller said that the fire was in the kitchen. When Arlington arrived, firefighters witnessed flames blowing through the roof of the wooden building and heavy smoke throughout the restaurant. The commander on the scene requested a second alarm to bring additional Arlington firefighters to the scene as well as City of Poughkeepsie firefighters and medics from Mobile Life Support Services.
Arlington Fire Chief William Steenbergh said that the fire was extinguished within 30 minutes, and the damage was confined to the kitchen area and exhaust system ductwork.
“There were no injuries, and all of the workers present in the restaurant at the time of the fire were able to self evacuate prior to Arlington’s arrival,” said Steenbergh. The restaurant is expected to be closed for an undetermined time while an outside contractor cleans up the damage.
In addition to the first responders at the scene, The New Hamburg, Pleasant Valley, and Roosevelt Fire Districts were dispatched to standby in Arlington stations.
The origin and cause of the fire were investigated by the Arlington Fire District Fire Investigation Division and determined to be from cooking oil in a deep fryer that had ignited. The cause of the fire is considered to be accidental.
