Both Madison and Springfield Township fire departments responded to a possible structure fire at Applebee’s on Lexington-Springmill Road in Ontario on Friday morning, but a fire was not to be found.
Lieutenant Anthony Shelton with Springfield Township Fire Department said the call came when workers at Applebee’s smelled smoke and visually saw smoke coming from the evacuation unit in the kitchen area. He noted the smoke was abnormal in that it was coming from an unknown source.
“We haven’t found anything and there was no smoke upon arrival, so right now we’re trying to trace it down to whether it’s the rooftop unit or what,” said Shelton.
Firefighters combed through the restaurant at 1023 North Lexington-Springmill Road starting around 9 a.m. on Friday to try and locate the source of the smoke, evacuating various items from the kitchen area. Applebee’s does not officially open until 11 a.m.
As of approximately 9:30 a.m. Shelton said firefighters still had not determined the cause of the smoke. He said a possible source could be the hood system over top of the flue that evacuates cooking smoke from the restaurant.
“We don’t know if it’s a build-up on one of the rooftop units, we’re just trying to check that out,” said Shelton.
