Boardwalk Fish & Chips will be closed for the rest of the year. 

By Delcenia Cosman

Homer Independent Press

An unattended propane grill next to flammable materials caused a fire at a Homer Spit restaurant last Wednesday, Homer Volunteer Fire Department Chief Daniel Jager determined following an investigation he led Aug 6.

Jager, a certified fire and explosion investigator, did an on-site examination and interviewed the owner of Boardwalk Fish & Chips. He concluded the fire was “unintentional in nature,” according to a press release issued last Friday.

The fire caused about $150,000 in damages to the restaurant and closed it for the rest of the tourist season.

The fire started on the boardwalk deck behind the restaurant, next to the back stairs that led to a second-floor apartment, where owner Shane McVeigh and a friend barbecued chicken on a grill. They’d left the grill unattended for an unknown time before the fire was discovered, Jager’s report said.

The Homer Independent Press could not immediately reach McVeigh for comment.

HVFD was dispatched to the scene at 8:38 p.m. Wednesday in response to a report that a cooking grill caught fire on the apartment deck near the restaurant. Multiple 911 calls, as well as an update from Homer Police Department officers on scene, upgraded the call to a full structure fire response and initiated automatic aid from Kachemak Emergency Services and Western Emergency Services. 

HVFD had one engine, a ladder truck and two tankers and KES and WES sent two tankers with crews. About a dozen firefighters fought the fire and did the mop-up. Hoses across the road from a fire hydrant near Harbor Ramp 2 stopped traffic for about an hour.

Jager said his investigation revealed chicken fat from the cooking meat flaring on the grill most likely caused the fire. The grill itself was near unprotected wood-sided walls in a partially sheltered space, which allowed the fire to expand, traveling vertically up the wood siding to the unprotected wood ceiling. 

Jager also found evidence of highly flammable spray foam insulation used for sealing gaps in the building, which most likely contributed to the fire’s rapid progression. The door to the stairs was also left open, allowing hot smoke, gases and flames to travel upstairs.

While HVFD was enroute, dispatch reported “occupant screams coming from inside,” but responders didn’t know then how many occupants could be trapped.

According to reporting by Alaska News Source, McVeigh was upstairs in his apartment and his friend was cleaning inside the restaurant when McVeigh saw smoke. The friend escaped through the restaurant’s exit while McVeigh tried to put the fire out, but it was already out of control. McVeigh said he remembered his cat, Ember, was still in the apartment and went back upstairs to rescue him. At that point, the fire had already spread and blocked the apartment’s main entry.

Jager’s report said that fire breached the ceiling on the first floor of the building, which consumed the flooring on the upstairs level and moved into McVeigh’s apartment, quickly trapping him inside. McVeigh broke open two glass windows, according to Alaska News Source, and threw Ember onto the restaurant roof a few feet below before climbing out himself.

HVFD arrived within five minutes and, in quick response alongside KES and WES, had the fire knocked down and under control within 10 minutes, Jager said. Medics took McVeigh to South Peninsula Hospital and treated him for non-life-threatening injuries, including multiple cuts from climbing out of the window. Jager said crews closed the response by 10:45 p.m. 

No other restaurant staff or customers were present because the restaurant was typically closed on Wednesdays. 

While Boardwalk Fish & Chips will be closed for the remainder of the season, they expect to be open again next year, according to a Facebook post. 

“While this is incredibly difficult, we are so grateful that all of our staff are safe,” the post reads. “We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to our local fire department and first responders for their quick, professional and dedicated efforts in managing the fire. We are incredibly grateful for everything you did to help protect our business and our community.

“This isn’t how we wanted to end the season, but we look forward to welcoming you all back next summer.”