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‘My business almost went up in flames’: Downtown Penticton restaurant owner vents frustration

A mattress fire is deemed suspicious in a building that houses residents and Twisted Chopsticks
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Penticton Firefighters go into a building in the 400 block of Main Street where a storage room had been broken into and a mattress was on fire on March 8. The building houses residents, a coffee house and Twisted Chopsticks Eatery. (Brennan Phillips Western News)

The owner of Twisted Chopsticks Eatery in downtown Penticton is feeling frustrated but grateful it wasn’t worse after his business and the building it’s in almost went up in flames Wednesday, March 8.

Around 3 p.m., a person/s broke into the storage room in the basement of the building and a mattress and electrical caught fire. The building also houses residential suites and a coffee shop.

“My business almost went up in flames,” posted Harold Cruz, owner of Twisted Chopsticks. Cruz is away at the moment but got a call from his employee about what happened. Twisted Chopsticks is closed for the season but reopens in April.

“Thanks to the quick action of my worker looking after the place (Ilona), my neighbour Rick and Greg, Penticton firefighters and a stroke of luck what could have been a big disaster was prevented. Very frustrating and infuriating,” said Cruz in a Facebook post.

There was a water pipe above where the mattress caught fire. When heated, the pipe burst, helping suppress the flames, he added.

According to assistant fire chief Rob Trupp, the fire in the 400 block of Main Street is suspicious in nature and was located in the burnt mattress and electrical.

The mattress was destroyed and the electrical in the basement was damaged but luckily the fire will have no impact on residents.

The fire didn’t extend to the rest of the building, said Trupp.

Penticton Fire had two engines and seven firefighters at the scene.

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Monique Tamminga

About the Author: Monique Tamminga

Monique brings 20 years of award-winning journalism experience to the role of editor at the Penticton Western News. Of those years, 17 were spent working as a senior reporter and acting editor with the Langley Advance Times.
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