Popular seafood restaurant severely damaged in Sunday night blaze
The restaurant is thought to have suffered about $250,000 in damage.
A popular seafood eatery was gutted by a fire Sunday night, hours after it had finished serving takeout on Mother’s Day.
Essex Seafood, located on Eastern Avenue in Essex, suffered about $250,000 in damage from the blaze, which was first reported around 10:58 p.m., and at times could be seen shooting through the roof of the building, as captured in photos and videos from the scene.
State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey and Essex Fire Chief Daniel Doucette believe the fire was caused by a gas heater, officials said in a news release. No one was injured.
“The fire originated over the counter area where there was a 15-20-year-old, ceiling-mounted gas heater,” the release said. “The heater had been left running overnight after the restaurant closed.”
This evening we responded to a second alarm fire in Esssx pic.twitter.com/9oR7SZjNIU
— REHAB FIVE (@RehabFive) May 11, 2020
The second alarm in Essex pic.twitter.com/zNwku4h28w
— REHAB FIVE (@RehabFive) May 11, 2020
“As some of you have heard, there was a fire at Essex Seafood last night,” the restaurant said in a post on Facebook. “Thankfully no one was injured but there is extensive damage to the restaurant building. We will keep you updated with next steps.”
As some of you have heard, there was a fire at Essex Seafood last night. Thankfully no one was injured but there is…
Posted by Essex Seafood on Monday, May 11, 2020
Earlier that day, the restaurant was open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. for takeout. Howard Lane, the restaurant’s owner for the past 22 years, told a WCVB reporter that “we actually had our busiest Mother’s Day.”
Lane told WBZ that he plans to rebuild the eatery.
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com