Late night electrical fire closes down A&W

MERRITT – An electrical fire broke out late last night (December 27) at the A&W in Merritt.

At around 11:20 p.m., 13 Merritt Fire Rescue firefighters responded to the fast food restaurant, on 2301 Voght St, and quickly contained the electrical fire.

“Once firefighters forced access, they were able to contain the fire damage to a small area at the front of the restaurant,” said Merritt Fire Chief, Dave Tomkinson. “The cause of the fire is electrical in nature, due to a short in artificial Christmas tree left plugged in.”

Even though the flame was contained to a small area, officials said the smoke damage was extensive.

Crews said the flame was discovered by RCMP who were responding to the connecting alarms.

Due to the incident, A&W is closed until further notice.