Hillsborough County Fire Rescue battled a fire at a Town n' Country Winghouse Monday morning.
HCFR is on scene of a 2nd alarm fire at the Wing House 8001 W Hillsborough Ave. pic.twitter.com/ZOmgXgOZUa
— Hillsborough County (@HillsFireRescue) January 24, 2022
Crews responded to a report of a smell of smoke in the building at about 5:40 a.m. Monday. The call came from staff on site conducting inventory. Three suppression units and one ambulance arrived on scene and found a very light haze in the kitchen area, authorities say.
The restaurant staff told the crews that the heater was recently turned on, and fire rescue inspected a heating unit on the roof.
The restaurant staff shut off the electrical breakers to the heat and air conditioning units, and the haze quickly dissipated from the kitchen area, HCFR says.
Crews placed a ladder in the kitchen, inspected the attic in four regions, and used thermal imaging cameras to detect any heat present. After further investigation by the fire crews, no heat source was detected, and the building was released to the restaurant manager on site. HCFR advised the staff to contact a service company and not to reenergize the units until they were serviced.
Later on, the restaurant staff remained inside the building and entered a walk-in cooler to complete the inventory. But after leaving the cooler, they discovered a hazy smoke that had filled the restaurant. A second call to 911 was placed at 7:11 am, and fire crews returned to find hazy smoke in the restaurant and immediately laddered the back of the building where the heating unit in question was located.
The crew took a dry chemical extinguisher to the roof and extinguished the flames inside the handler. Crews quickly identified additional flames that had spread through the attic space and called for a second alarm. The fire spread quickly through the attic space, making it unsafe for fire rescue to remain on the roof or in the interior of the building.
At that point, two aerial apparatus were used to extinguish the flames from above while engine companies continued suppression on the exterior and contained the fire to one building by protecting nearby exposures. A total of 16 units were on scene, with some remaining on scene into the afternoon.
The exact origin and cause of the fire is being investigated.
There have not been any injuries reported.
This story is developing. Stay with ABC Action News for updates.
