A fire that started in the exhaust fan at a Pandosy-area restaurant on Sunday morning caused quite the scene.
“There were flames when I came in, mostly carbon build-up from the exhaust fan of the pizza oven that caught fire from an over-heated fan,” said Jason Picklik, Kelowna Fire Department platoon captain.
“We extinguished it upon arrival.”
The fire, which broke out inside Famosa Pizzeria, was quickly put out and did not damage the inside of the restaurant. However, the building where it started is part of a multi-unit structure, Sopa Square, prompting a large presence of first responders at the scene.
“Because it’s a big structure, we had a multi-unit response that we downgraded when we arrived,” Picklik said.
Picklik says that the incident serves as a good reminder for restaurants to regularly clean their exhaust vents.
“Anything to do with exhaust, you should probably clean it out,”
“Any build-up like that with a little bit of heat will combust and cause a fire.”
Picklik added the pizzeria will likely be closed for the remainder of the day.