The Chief of Pipestem Volunteer Fire Department, Butch Mansfield released the following statement to The Hinton News in regards to the fire at Brandon’s BBQ & Grille:
“Pipestem VFD was dispatched at 13:44 April 8, 2021, for a reported structure fire at Brandon’s BBQ here in Pipestem. Pipestem’s Engine 41 was the first arriving unit and connected to a fire hydrant that was located at the entrance to the restaurant on Indian Ridge Road. First arriving units found heavy fire on the outside of the structure on the C-side or rear of the building near the walk-in freezer and coolers.
“The fire had also penetrated into the kitchen area of the restaurant. A 2 ½ inch line was quickly deployed in order to extinguish the fire on the outside of the building and at the same time, a crew entered the structure in order to extinguish the fire in the kitchen area.
“It took approximately 1 hour to get the fire under control and approximately 2 hours before the fire was determined to be out. Pipestem VFD received mutual aid from Athens VFD, East River VFD, Summers County VFD, JB Nimitz VFD, Talcott FD. We had a total of 5 fire engines, 3 rescue units and 23 firefighters on scene. The owner Brandon White stated that he and another employee were working in the kitchen and he opened the back door to go outside and found the back of the building on fire. Luckily everyone was able to get out of the structure and there were no injuries.”
After catching fire on Thursday, April 8, the owner of Brandon’s BBQ & Grille Restaurant took to the business’s social media account to express thanks to the responding fire departments.
The announcement states that no one was injured and the fire is under control.
They would like to thank the community for reaching out to check on them and stated, “Gonna take a while but we will just have to start over.”
There is no official word yet on the cause of the fire.
In a Facebook announcement, the Summers County Sheriff’s Department has stated that Brandon’s Restaurant in Pipestem is currently on fire. Officers from the department are currently on scene and are asking the public to avoid the area as much as possible.
The post states, “We are on scene of an active fire at Brandon’s Restaurant in Pipestem. Please avoid the area while our local fire departments attempts to control the fire.”
