Fire contained at vacant barber shop in Willowick
Sep. 26—The Willowick Fire Department received a call for what was described as an explosion and fire within the Willowick Cafe at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 24.
Fire units arrived on scene to find a small fire in the vacant barber shop located directly next door to the Willowick Cafe, located at 28809 Lake Shore Blvd., according to a department Facebook post. Fire was contained to this unit only with no extension to the basement or apartments above.
No injuries were reported, according to the fire department.
Fire investigators were able to access the security videos on premises and found there was no explosion. The false ceiling inside the barber shop collapsed as a result of the fire creating a rush of air that flung a door open, and the sound of the ceiling collapsing mimicked an explosion, according to the post.
The cause of the fire, as witnessed via video, was careless discarding of smoking materials into a waste can located within the barber shop. The Willowick Cafe has access to this area for a break room for its employees as well as bar storage, according to the department post.
Eastlake, Willoughby, Wickliffe, Willoughby Hills, Euclid, Mentor, Mayfield Village, Kirtland, Richmond Heights, Highland Heights and Mentor-on-the-Lake provided mutual aid and city coverage during this incident. The Western Lake County Fire Investigation Unit also assisted.
Both lanes to Lake Shore were closed during the incident.
