LEWISTON, N.Y. (WIVB) — Firefighters responded to a fire at Brickyard Brewing Company on Center Street in Lewiston overnight.
Firefighters say they got the first call around 10:40 p.m. Tuesday night. When they got there, flames were coming out of the roof.
Crews found it difficult to get between the old roof and the new one in order to get the fire out. That’s one of the reasons they were there for so long.
At some point, the back half of the roof had collapsed. Firefighters had to be cautious of this sort of hazard while inside the open building.
It’s not the first time this building has caught fire. Officials say it had to be reconstructed after a previous one.
Sprinklers had been installed in the building, but firefighters think the reason they didn’t go off immediately was the fact that the fire went above them.
There was some fire and water damage to the Brickyard BBQ and Pub business, which is a separate establishment connected to the brewery. A fire door exists between them.
Still, the brewery sustained most of the damage. Luckily though, fire crews say it’s not a total loss since the bottom floor is in good shape.
There’s no estimate on the damage yet, but crews expect it to be hundreds of thousands of dollars. Rebuilding in the same location appears possible.
Another building next door was not affected by the fire.
One firefighter was hospitalized for heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation, but has since been released. No one else was injured, and no one is believed to have been in the building at the time of the fire.
Lewiston Fire Company No. 1 says Center St. and Ridge Rd. are closed between 4th and 5th St. as cleaning takes place. They are asking any bystanders to stay away from the scene.
After the fire began, Brickyard Brewing Company responded to the situation with optimism, and thanked the first responders who were at the scene.
