Firefighters Save Friendly's in Carmel

Eric Gross The Carmel FD ladder truck assists the crews in battling the blaze. Firefighters averted a calamity at Friendly's Restaurant in Carmel Wednesday when smoke was reported inside the wood frame structure around 7:45 a.m.

Carmel Police arrived on the scene minutes after a 911 call was received and confirmed a heavy concentration of smoke inside the building located at Route 6 and Stoneleigh Avenue.

Carmel Fire Department personnel were summoned and Chief Mark Earle sounded a general alarm and requested mutual aid from the Brewster and Lake Carmel Fire Departments as smoke began to permeate through the eaves of the structure.

Crews entered Friendly's and traced the source of the fire to an outside electric fixture on the east side of the building. Chief Earle said a thermal imaging camera identified the source which began burning in the early morning hours: "Employees had arrived at the restaurant at 6 a.m. to begin work. It wasn't until 90 minutes later when they began to smell something burning when suddenly the restaurant filled up with smoke. The four workers did the right thing. They called 911 and evacuated."

ERIC GROSS Firefighters search for the source of the blaze inside the smoky restaurant. While the interior of the restaurant suffered minor smoke damage, the building did suffer some structural harm when firefighters chopped holes in the roof and the side of the structure to get to the fire which was then extinguished.

Friendly's will be closed for a couple of days for repairs but the chief said the restaurant chain was very fortunate: "Had this begun overnight, we would found a fully involved structure blaze upon our arrival similar to the Wendy's fire a couple of years ago."

Wendy's at the Putnam Plaza located across Route 6 from Friendly's was destroyed in a Saturday morning blaze after a grease fire got out of hand and ignited the popular fast food restaurant. The eatery has since rebuilt.

The chief praised the mutual aid support from neighboring departments: "It is extremely difficult to get crews and equipment to the scene during daytime calls since most of our members are working. By supporting each other, the system works like a charm."

Also assisting were Putnam Deputy Commissioner of Emergency Services Adam Stiebeling, Putnam Deputy Emergency Coordinators James Ciulla and Jeffrey Boyle, Putnam EMS Director Robert Cuomo and members of the Carmel Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Brewster and Lake Carmel FD Rescue Squads and members of the Carmel FD Fire Police.

No injuries were reported.