Salem Firemen have to go up on the roof to extinguish a fire in a vent system shutting down the restaurant until cleanup is complete. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
A Salem fireman walking out of the station looked over at the Hardee’s restaurant Friday afternoon and saw a flame and plume of smoke shooting out a rooftop vent.
Realizing something was wrong, a fire alarm was sounded and firemen made their way two blocks down the street. They had to climb a ladder to the roof with a water hose to douse the fire.
Salem Fire Chief Dave Duncan says the employees were not aware the vent had caught fire. They were all able to safely exit the building.
Duncan says the fire appears to have been confined to the vent structure and did not spread to the roof or inside the restaurant. There was minor smoke damage in the cooking area and firemen used an exhaust fan to clear the smoke.
Odin Firemen provided automatic mutual aid and Kell Firemen stood by at the Salem Fire Station in the event of another fire.
The fire alarm came in at 3:02 Friday afternoon.
Smoke pours out a roof vent at Hardee’s after a grease build-up apparently catches fire. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
