Fire at Layton restaurant likely ignited by deep fryer

LAYTON -- A popular Italian restaurant burned Thursday night, authorities said.

The restaurant staff was draining an electric deep-fat fryer, but forgot to turn off power to the unit, and some residual oil ignited. Fortunately, the employee immediately noticed the fire and pulled the manual release of the hood system. The hood system's activation caused the fire alarm system to activate, alerting the occupants and the fire department. The heat from the fire was not sufficient to activate any of the structure's sprinklers."It's a family restaurant that's been here for a while," Bitton said. "It's just devastating for these smaller-run restaurants."BAKED POPCORN CHICKENThe single-story, wood-frame restaurant, which was 86 feet (26 meters) long and 45 feet (1 3 meters) wide, was built on a concrete slab and had a brick-veneer exterior and a flat metal-deck roof with built-up roof surface. A wet-pipe sprinkler system and an automatic fire detection system were monitored by a central alarm station.Actually, you can. You just need to lose all the grease and saturated fat.Damage was limited to clean-up, recharging the system, and business loss. There were no injuries.A passer-by spotted flames coming from the roof of Gabor Bros. near Gentile Street and Main Street about 11:30 p.m., said Layton fire spokesman Doug Bitton.

-- Ben Winslow