Fire marshal: China Gourmet structure fire not suspicious
A structure fire at a Center Township Chinese restaurant on Tuesday evening, Dec. 3, was ruled accidental by a state police fire marshal following an investigation early Wednesday morning.
Unionville Volunteer Fire Company Chief Mike Pflugh, who was one of the first firefighters on the scene, said he received that news via a discussion with the fire marshal Wednesday.
“He went in today and investigated it,” Pflugh said. “He said he didn’t think it was suspicious. Just because it’s a high-profile fire, that’s why we obviously had to call them.”
No one was injured in the blaze that broke out shortly after 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Crews were dispatched to the scene at 7:18 p.m. and had the situation under control quickly.
“I probably had it marked under control within a half hour,” said Pflugh. “We had it basically knocked and were doing some roof work and finishing stuff, so it was probably a little quicker than that.”
The damage was mostly limited to the kitchen, according to Pflugh.
“It was pretty much contained to the kitchen area and through the ceiling of the kitchen area,” he said. “The dining room sustained some water and smoke damage, but mainly everything was held into the kitchen area.”
The restaurant’s Facebook page confirmed that the building is for sale because the owner wants to retire in a comment left under the initial post about the fire on Butler Eagle’s Facebook page.
No one was at the restaurant on Wednesday. A sign posted to the restaurant’s front door announced that it had discontinued buffet service due to low demand.
The owner couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday evening.
