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Montana’s bounces back after truck fire

Apr 26, 2018 | 5:34 PM

While the exact cause of the fire that spread to Montana’s in Prince Albert Wednesday night is still under investigation, the popular restaurant is getting on with business and brushing off the minor setback.

“We’re ‘fired-up’ to bring you some ‘smoking good BBQ!!!’ the restaurant proclaimed in a tough-in-cheek Facebook post soon after the fire. The chain was serving customers again by late Thursday afternoon.

Owner-operator Devin Panchuk said the blaze started in a truck belonging to a compay hired to steam and pressure wash the restaurant’s exhaust hoods on the roof around 11:30 p.m. The fire spread from the vehicle to the skin of the restaurant but fortunately didn’t get into the interior. The truck was destroyed.

PA Fire Department Inspector and investigator Quentin Roland said he was trying to figure out exactly what went wrong with the cleaning equipment.

“I’m taking a look at some of the machinery that was being used and see if there’s any kind of history or problems,“ Roland told paNOW.  “Talking with the people doing the cleaning they weren’t doing anything out of the ordinary that they haven’t done a hundred times before.”

As for the building Roland said he was impressed with the mesh stucco finish that kept damage down.

“It did a really good job of keeping the fire out…it didn’t penetrate the building,” he said.

 

glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princelabertnow