A fire Sunday morning damaged the Rockport House of Pizza and displaced at least two families. There were no reported injuries.
Rockport police and fire said they responded to 19 Broadway Avenue around 10 a.m. after receiving reports of a strong gas odor throughout the building. The fire department said crews saw thick black smoke coming from the mixed-use building when they arrived.
Firefighters struck four alarms to bring additional aid to the scene. National Grid also shut off electrical service to the building. Crews were able to put out the fire at approximately 1 p.m.
Brenden Kolterjahn, the general manager of the pizza shop, said he was inside when the fire started. He said almost as soon as he smelled gas, he saw fire.
“It happened so fast,” he said. “I smelled gas, pulled the fryolator out a bit back a little bit and it just went up. We just got the hell out of there.”
“It could have been a lot worse if it was windy like it has been the last couple of days. And if those tanks did explode, it could have ran right down Broadway if the conditions were right,” Rockport Fire Chief Mark Wonson said.
Those tanks were propane, and firefighters were ultimately able to shut them off.
Two families live in the apartments attached to the restaurant, and both are now displaced. And about half a dozen employees are out of work.
“It’s just sad, because the business has been there for so long,” Kolterjahn said. “It’s been a staple in Rockport since I was a kid. Just sucks. Now it’s gone.”
“That’s been there since the 1950s, at least” Rockport resident Sheila Drohan said. “It was Ketchopulos grocery store originally.”
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The State Fire Marshal’s Office is helping Rockport fire figure out how it started.
