Auburn firefighters battle blazes at restaurant, barn

Auburn, Al.
Firefighters at the Auburn Fire Division have had a busy couple of days after crews spent Thursday night and Friday morning working on two fires, an official said.

Chief Lee Lamar said crews first responded to a call at 9:47 p.m. Thursday at the Flying Goose Cafe on Shug Jordan Parkway. Lamar said the fire was discovered by an Auburn Police Division officer.

When firefighters arrived on the scene, Lamar said they found a fire in the kitchen and storage area. Crews had to force entry into the business, which was unoccupied at the time of the fire, and there were no injuries.

Lamar said it took crews approximately 5 minutes to extinguish the fire.

“We believe at this time that it was an electrical component that may have caused the fire,” Lamar said. “We’ll continue to work with the state Fire Marshal’s Office, the Auburn Police Division and the insurance company to try and verify what we believe so far.”

A message on the restaurant’s website states that the business is temporarily closed until the damage is repaired.

After extinguishing and cleaning up the Flying Goose Cafe fire, firefighters weren’t quite done. Lamar said while crews were still cleaning up after the first fire, they received another call at 8:23 a.m. Friday. This time they were sent to the intersection of Lee Road 90 and U.S. Highway 280 West to put out a fire at a barn owned by Auburn University. Lamar said the structure was fully engulfed in flames when crews arrived.

“Fire was rolling out of everywhere,” he said. “It was a great visual. When we got on scene, units went ahead and tried to control the fire and keep it from spreading.”

Firefighters were able to put out the fire, Lamar said, though the barn, which had been used for storage, was a complete loss. No one was injured in the fire.

Lamar said witnesses at the time of the fire said they heard an electrical popping noise. He said he believes the cause of the fire was most likely electrical.