Wilson's Barbeque Goes Up in Smoke

Wilson's Barbeque will be closed for a couple of days due to smoke damage from a fire that started in the rear of the Post Road restaurant about 8:15 a.m. Wednesday, firefighters said.

Firefighters said the fire was easily controlled and that most of the estimated $30,000 in damage came from smoke damage and food in the restaurant that will have to be thrown away.

Arriving firefighters found heavy smoke coming from the 1851 Post Road restaurant and had the blaze under control in about 15 minutes, said Assistant Fire Chief Douglas Chavenello. "For us, it was a pretty simple fire, but the business and the offices above were heavily damaged by smoke," he said. "The actual fire damage was minimal."

The cause of the fire was under investigation by the Fairfield Fire Marshal's Office, but Chavenello said rags with oil on them were a possible culprit. "It was a pile of rags by the back door. Sometimes, rags will spontaneously combust if they've got oily residue on them. It was probably meat fats, any kind of oil and grease," he said.

The call initially came in as a burglary because the fire was underneath a keypad for a burglar alarm and melted it. Police officers who arrived on the scene found the business filled with smoke, Chavenello said.

Wilson's Barbeque wasn't open for business at the time and no one was injured, Chavenello said.