The fire that destroyed a Rutland landmark has been deemed accidental by the Ā鶹AV Fire Department.
Late in the evening on Tuesday, Oct. 6, Olympia Taverna on Highway 33 went up in flames. A waiter and another staff member were playing cards in the restaurant after closing, when they started to smell smoke, shortly after 10 p.m.
When they opened the restaurantās back door, they saw flames burning up to the roof.
According to Paul Johnson, fire prevention officer with the Ā鶹AV Fire Department, the fire was not malicious in nature.
āOur investigator and the RCMP determined that there was no criminality involved,ā he said.
āIt started up in the restaurantās mechanical room, up on the second level. We couldnāt actually access that area, where there was a fan unit, due to safety concerns. But there was no indication that it was suspicious in nature.ā
Olympia co-owner Mike Koutsantonis said it was a relief to hear the fire was accidental in nature.
āWe kinda knew - we hoped - that it was accidental and that someone didnāt light it up on purpose,ā he said.
āNow itās just a matter of talking to the insurance company to see where we can move forward on this.ā
Koutsantonis said theyāve been thinking about rebuilding and they know for sure they will do that in the future.
āWhat itās going to look like, we donāt know yet. Thatās going to be a little bit down the road.ā
āItās just good to know it wasnāt intentional. Itās always a good thing no one had bad intentions,ā he said.
READ: āItās devastatingā: Olympia Taverna owner speaks on restaurant loss
