PERU — A fire caused minor damage to Pasquale's Pizzeria at 2931 Main Street here on Monday morning.
Peru Volunteer Fire Department responded to the blaze, which was confined to a wall in the restaurant's adjacent take-out building.
Crews were able to quickly extinguish the fire, and no one was injured, according to Bryan Duprey, second lieutenant of the Peru Fire Department.
He said he believed a piece of equipment, possibly a soup warmer, was left on and sparked the flames.
Those flames, he said, burned a hole in the interior of one of the building's exterior walls.
"There's a little bit of a hole," he said.
Firefighters ripped pieces of scorched insulation from the wall and hosed down the area.
Duprey said the building was not damaged structurally and estimated the damage at approximately $1,000.
The fire was reported at around 9:45 a.m., after a Pasquale's employee arrived at the building to begin work and smelled smoked.
That person called 911, according to Sandy Bazzano, general manager of the pizzeria.
Though a structure fire is never good, she said, it's fortunate that it happened on a Monday and did not disrupt weekend business.
"I think we're just lucky this morning," she said.
Bazzano expected the take-out building to reopen for business by Friday.
Until then, Pasquale's will offer take-out, as well as dining services, out of the main restaurant, which was unaffected by the fire.
"It will be business as usual," Bazzano said.
— Contributing Writer Ian Tully added to this report
