Fire Damages Garden Catering in Port Chester

A deli on Midland Avenue was damaged in a gas-fed fire that broke out during rush hour Wednesday evening in Port Chester, NY.

Port Chester firefighters say the fire at Garden Catering at 140 Midland Ave. is considered to be an accident and no one was injured in the incident.

While there was damage to a wall inside the business, Port Chester Fire Chief Kevin McFadden said the fire did not cause significant damage to the business and he expects it should be able to re-open within days.

McFadden said about 30 firefighters responded to the emergecy call at about 5:30 p.m. While firefighters were able to quickly knock down the fire, McFadden said one of the biggest challenges they had was fighting rush-hour traffic on Midland Avenue to get to Garden Catering.

Inside the deli, McFadden said fire broke out behind a deep frying unit, where gas was leaking from a pipe. He said the gas fueled the flames and led firefighters to break open a wall to make sure the flames did not spread into unseen areas of the structure.

A crew from Con Edison was called in to cut gas service to the building. McFadden said access to the leaking pipe was difficult because of grease on the pipe.

McFadden said the fire did not threaten any nearby businesses and Port Chester code enforcement officials and Westchester Counth Health Department officials were called to the business to inspect the damage. McFadden said there were no building violations and the fire appears to be accidental.

Port Chester firefighters were at the business for about 45 minutes.

The Port Chester Garden Catering is part of the family-owned chain in Fairfield and Westchester counties, that was started in Old Greenwich. On Thursday night, Garden Catering wrote on its Twitter account, "Our Port Chester store had a small fire Wed. but little damage. Should be open by mid next week. We'll keep u posted!"