LYNN — A two-alarm fire ripped through the ground floor of Shoreline Pizza and Grille on 163 Lewis St. early Tuesday morning, sending a large amount of smoke and flames through the first-floor restaurant.
Lynn firefighters, alongside the State Police’s Fire and Explosion Investigation Section, responded to a 9-1-1 call Wednesday morning at approximately 6:37 a.m. District Fire Chief Joseph Zukas said that by the time firefighters arrived on the scene, tenants from the two residential stories above the restaurant had already evacuated the building.
Shoreline Pizza and Grille owner Amado Merida, who bought the restaurant only four months ago, said that in the early hours of the morning, he got a call from the complex’s previous owner who informed him that his restaurant was on fire.
“Somebody on the second floor called the old owner, and the old owner called me at six in the morning, he said, ‘the shop is on fire.’ I said ‘how?’ because there was nobody there. I come in and see a lot of fire outside, and smoke, I couldn’t see anything else, just smoke,” Merida said. “I said ‘what’s going on?’ I was scared.”
As fire investigators examined the scene, State Police Accelerant Detection Canine Handler Sergeant Justin Peledge examined the scene with his K-9, Vasco. Zukas said that the fire’s cause is still under investigation and that the fire did not leave any injuries or fatalities.
Merida said that while he was disappointed in the fact that his business was temporarily closed, he’s glad that nobody got hurt.
“I feel good that the people’s lives were saved, but I feel sad because we started this business and we want to work hard and now we can’t do nothing,” Merida said.
This fire is still under investigation by the Lynn Fire Department and the State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s office.
Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at [email protected]
