Cigarette likely cause of Ansonia Taco Bell fire, official says

By Patricia Villers
Register Staff
ANSONIA — A discarded cigarette “most likely” caused a fire late Monday afternoon at Taco Bell, Fire Marshal Ralph Tingley said today.
More than 50 firefighters from Ansonia and Derby responded to the blaze that was reported at 5:07 p.m. at the restaurant, 205 Division St.
The fire started inside “a false column” in the rear of the building, Tingley said. The area was near the service entrance. The blaze could have been fueled by “combustibles” in the column, he said, that were left there from recent renovation work.
Smoking material could have been smoldering for quite some time, he said. “It burned out 2-by-10s a couple of feet up,” Tingley said. “When firefighters pulled the ceiling (tiles) it had burned through (toward) the kitchen,” he added.
Contractors were already on the scene this morning to start the repair work, Tingley said.
Manager Wayne Wyman said Monday that six employees and five or six customers were inside the restaurant at the time smoke was noticed. No one was injured.
Tingley said he could not say how much monetary damage the blaze caused, because he could not estimate the value of the food that had to be discarded.
The health department said the only food that was salvageable was what was stored in the freezer, Tingley said. He said the frozen food was going to be taken to another restaurant.
The restaurant remains closed.