Popcorn Fire Sends Mountainside Moviegoers Running

The drama didn't stay on the screen at the movies on Monday night. A minor popcorn machine fire sent patrons at the AMC Loews Mountainside Theater on Route 22 away from movies like and out the door.

The minor fire, which broke out around 8:20 p.m., was extinguished quickly by a manager of the movie theater and a responding Mountainside police officer.  A Mountainside firefighter said the theater's glass covered atrium lobby was filled with smoke from the fire.

Deputy Mountainside Fire Chief Peter Esemplare said the fire was put out with dry chemicals and the building was safely evacuated with firefighters airing out the building. A teenage employee of the theater was taken to Overlook Hospital in Summit to be treated for either smoke inhalation or asthma.

Patrons inside the theater reported heavy smoke conditions filling the hallways after the theater was evacuated. When the alarms went off, several patrons said they thought the alarm was part of the movie since there was no smoke in individual theaters. One patron reported to Patch that flames were seen shooting from the popcorn machine.

Nonetheless, it evidently wasn't the sort of thing that could move a crowd accustomed to the thrills of "Piranha 3-D."

"The movie was more exciting," one patron said.

Fire departments from Mountainside, Springfield and Roselle responded to the scene with firefighters from Scotch Plains and Garwood providing coverage of the Mountainside fire department.

Esemplare said that officials from the Westfield Regional Health Department, which oversees public health in Mountainside, would be inspecting the theater on Tuesday morning to determine if it was safe to reopen.