Chimney fire briefly evacuates Theo’s restaurant during dinner rush

It’s not quite how patrons at Theo’s Restaurant in Penticton expected their dinner to go Thursday night.

Diners were forced to evacuate at around 6:45 p.m. because of a chimney fire.

Firefighters were able to get a handle on the small blaze quickly, and after about ten minutes people were allowed back inside to continue enjoying their meal, with emergency crews still working in the background.

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“Theo’s did a good job calmly evacuating people from the restaurant,” Penticton fire chief Larry Watkinson said. “We let people back in once it was safe so they could stay warm and finish eating.”

Watkinson said it was a fairly minor situation, but serves as a reminder to anyone who has a chimney to make sure it is professionally cleaned and inspected before being fired up.