Cigarette Most Likely Cause Of Taco Bell Fire

Monday evening’s fire at the Taco Bell on Division Street was probably caused by discarded cigarettes, Ansonia Fire Marshal Ray Tingley said Tuesday.

There were no injuries.

The fire started in a decorative column on the outside of the building in the back, Tingley said, in an area that was used by employees during smoking breaks. There was a container for discarded butts, but fire officials saw a large number of cigarette butts around the column. 

The thought is that the discarded smoking material started the fire. Tingley said the wood was probably smoldering for sometime before Monday’s wind fueled it and allowed it to travel up the inside of the column and under the roof.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire before it spread uncontrolled into the restaurant. It was a close call.

“It had started to burn into the restaurant,” Tingley said. ​“When the guys pulled the ceilings, the fire started to roll across the ceiling on them, but they were able to knock it down very quickly.”

Taco Bell remained closed Tuesday and will most likely be closed for several weeks as contractors make repairs.

The fire has been deemed an accident. It’s unclear how much damage was caused in terms of a dollar amount — but all the food in the store had to be thrown out. There was also smoke and water damage inside the restaurant.

It’s the third fire caused by cigarettes in the lower Valley in less than a week.

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