Fire at Oriental Foot Reflexology Under Investigation

WALTHAM, MA — One firefighter was hurt Sunday morning when working to put out the fire at the Oriental Foot Reflexology on Main Street that closed down the Gentle Dental and Anna's Pizza and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

A passerby smelled smoke around 7:52 a.m. Sunday and called 911. When the fire department got there they saw the front of Oriental Foot Reflexology full of smoke, around back they also saw smoke coming out of the building and smoldering debris at the back door. They broke their way in, according to fire officials and by 1:35 p.m. the fire and police departments said they handed over the property back to the owners.

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On Monday morning the owner of Anna's Pizza House next door was working with a cleaning crew to wipe down the walls and floors and throw out the pizza boxes that lined the wall shared with the Reflexology. The heavy smell of smoke still clung to the air inside his pizza joint, though no fire damage was visible.

"It definitely could have been worse," owner John Piranosian told Patch Monday morning. Piranosian has owned the pizza joint - known for it's buffalo chicken pizza - for the past three years, he said, and was hoping to get back and running by Wednesday so as not to lose any customers. Piranosian said police called him to tell him about the fire next door. His dad was able to swing by and see that most of the damage to his son's shop was smoke, he said.

Gentle Dental is also working to get rid of the smell of smoke in their offices but were able to open again Tuesday. Anna's reopened Wednesday.

Detective Sargent Joseph Guigno of the Waltham Police Department and Lt. Scott Perry of the Waltham Fire department both said the fire was still under investigation.

Perry said the State Fire Marshall was looking into the cause of the fire.

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