Fire at the Fusion Grill

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Created on Monday, 30 April 2018 18:30

Written by Kiernan Brisson

ST. JOHNSBURY - The Fire Departments of Lyndonville, Burke, and St. Johnsbury reported to a firecall on the edge of Lyndon and St. Johnsbury earlier this morning, when smoke was reported inside the Fusion Grill. The first ones to spot the smoke were residents at the Maplewood Lodge, which is connected to the Fusion Grill.

Once the Lyndonville Fire Department was contacted the issued a call to Deputy Chief Greg Hopkins, who works right next door at Fred's Energy. "At first I looked outside and saw smoke rising up out of the chimney and thought, that's peculier, then I got a call from the Fire Department asking me to investigate the premises, and sure enough I was met with an odor unmistakable with a building fire once I got close to the restaurant."
Deputy Chief Hopkins was the first on the scene, and the Fire crews arrived shortly thereafter around 8:00 AM. Within the first half-hour of the call the crews were able to locate and extinguish the fire in the building's basement, the next hour was spent airing out the building of smoke and searching the floors and walls for hotspots and potential fire-starters.
Around 10:00 AM, the Burke and St. Johnsbury Fire Departments were cleared to vacate the premises, and the Lyndonville department stayed on site while local fire investigators were contacted and brought on scene to determine what started the Blaze. As of 4:00 PM, Investigators of the Vermont Department of Public Safety ruled the fire to be an accident, and although they were not able to pinpoint an exact cause, they ruled that the fire most likely began due to a power surge with electrical wires located in the basement.