FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A fire that sparked inside a Fort Lauderdale restaurant spread toward the historic movie theater located next door.
Wilton Wings Bar and Kitchen, located at 1818 E. Sunrise Blvd, burned for nearly an hour in Fort Lauderdale, just before 9 a.m., Wednesday
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue crews rushed to the scene.
“The crews were able to get out here quickly and maintain a majority of the fire damage to the restaurant, where it originally started,” said FLFR Fire Chief Stephen Gollan. “We have investigators on scene at this time working to determine what the origin of the fire may be.”
However, Gollan said, crews had a hard time getting to the fire.
“The fire gets running in the void spaces and so, they have to open up a lot of walls. They have to see where the seed of the fire was in order to properly extinguish it,” said Gollan. “That, paralleled with the extreme heat we’re experiencing, makes it a very challenging day.”
But the firefighters pushed through the challenges.
“I’m very happy with the crews and the success they were able to make isolating it just to the restaurant and into the movie theater,” said Gollan.
When it was all over, there was major damage left behind. The theater next door, Paradigm Cinemas: Gateway Fort Lauderdale, sustained minor smoke damage.
“I mean, the restaurant had just been remodeled,” said Armand Daiguillon, the Gateway’s manager and owner. “Redid everything and doing really well, so it’s a shame this is happening now.”
Daiguillon expressed his frustrations with the aftermath that he now has to deal with.
“It’s not good. The theater’s always been struggling for a while,” he said. “We’re getting better, but setbacks are never helpful.”
Daiguillon said they had just renovated almost a year ago.
“It’s just a matter of smoke and water that came in when they were fighting the fire; then you got to make sure they didn’t mess anything up,” Daguillon continued. “We expect to have it rectified pretty soon, hopefully.”
The owner said they will likely be closed for approximately a week.
No injuries were reported.
The fire remains under investigation.
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