The Farm Family Restaurant is undergoing work to repair its kitchen after a fire broke out in a fryer the morning of Sept. 13.
Bradford City Fire Department were dispatched around 7 a.m. to the business, where flames were reported to have shot 10 feet out of a vent in the rear of the structure, to find the fire had been extinguished by an Ansul fire-suppression system.
No one was injured, but the fire damaged several pieces of kitchen equipment and caused light smoke damage throughout the first floor of the restaurant, according to fire officials.
Owner Alan Priest told The Era Friday that the morning of the fire went as any other as manager Jim Butler came in to open the restaurant at 6:30 a.m. that Saturday, turned on the exhaust and lights and began to do the usual prep work for the day.
“He lit the fryers, turned on the grill just as he or I would do any normal morning. About 20 minutes had passed and the fryers and grill were all up to heat,” Priest said. “I have surveillance cameras and still after watching them numerous times, I still don’t know exactly how the fire started.”
Fire officials list the fire as accidental and attribute its cause to an equipment malfunction.
He said Butler was cooking bacon on the grill when he noticed an orange flash in the front line near the registers, where the restaurant’s fry station and French fryer are also located.
It was then Butler saw flames coming from the fryer and below the hood over the fryer, according to Priest, thought he didn’t smell anything burning prior to the eruption of flames.
“All my camera showed is a flash of flames. Nobody was operating the fryer or anywhere near it,” he continued. “The flames were shooting out of the back of the building about 10 feet out where our exhaust vent is located.”
Priest explained that the flames were being pulled up the vents and sucked out of the back of the building, which is one thing that prevented the building from burning down.
He said Butler had immediately pulled the pin to the Ansul system, which released fire-suppressant chemicals from heads positioned above the grill and fryers. Priest said he also was grateful for the speedy response of fire personnel, who vented the structure and checked to make sure it was out and hadn’t extended into any walls.
He called in Servpro for cleanup, and representatives arrived the next morning to assess the damages along with the insurance adjuster.
“The whole building was filled with smoke, and there was soot covering everything,” Priest said. “The ceiling was black over top of the French fryer and also the hoods and duct work.
“They have put in new ceiling tiles in the lobby and restroom entry way. They are replacing all of the chairs in the lobby, and I will be getting a new French fryer,” he continued. “They ripped out all of the duct work and hoods, and that will all have to be replaced.”
Priest said they are painting the lobby and kitchen areas, as well as repairing and painting the back of the outside of the building where the flames were shooting out.
“I am still waiting on a confirmation of whether or not the menu board inside will be replaced or not,” he said.
Priest has owned the restaurant for five years, having purchased the business from Doug and Ginny Butler on Sept. 25, 2009.
“I love this restaurant and it has been a part of my life since I was young,” he said. “I grew up with the old owners’ sons, and Jim Butler has been one of my best friends for over 15 years. Knowing them that young, I started at the restaurant working with Jim when I was 14 years old.”
He said when it came up for sale, he thought it would be a good opportunity to keep the restaurant “a part of our community as it has been since 1968-69 when it was originally built and opened as The Red Barn.”
Priest said he is determined to get it back up and running after the fire and hopes to reopen between Sept. 27 and Oct. 4.
“It is a tough business, and we’ve made it through many obstacles and struggles, but we remain strong and I am very confident this restaurant will remain a great place to go in our community,” Priest stated. “I am glad that nobody was injured and Jim Butler did all the right things to make sure this didn’t get out of control. Everything was handled properly and now is the hard part.
“I am excited to see the outcome after all renovations are done,” he continued. “I am very excited to open the doors for the community to come in and enjoy our great food and hospitality again. I have had numerous people come to me anxious for our reopening and I want everyone to know that I am pushing to be back up and running as soon as we can.”
