No word yet on cause of Peabody fire
Staff writer
Fire departments from Peabody, Marion, and Hillsboro spent three hours early Sunday fighting a fire at Peabody’s Coneburg Grill and Pub.
Firefighters were summoned at 4:46 a.m. After Fire Chief Colton Glenn released other firefighters and waited for a fire marshal to arrive, a piece of insulation rekindled, and he called other Peabody firefighters back.
Glenn said the fire was contained to the kitchen but reached a dropped tile ceiling, the space above which spread with heavy smoke throughout the building.
“The building itself was condensed really thick with heavy smoke,” he said. “We pulled down all that tile ceiling to make sure we got all of it out.”
He said the building had smoke damage throughout, but the dining and serving areas were mostly intact.
Glenn said he didn’t know what started the fire, but heat was so intense that some aluminum items started to melt. Aluminum melts at 1,200 degrees.
The fire marshal’s office will release its findings as to the cause in about two weeks, Glenn said.
During the fire, two firefighters were examined by emergency medical personnel. Glenn’s policy is that a firefighter who has gone through two tanks of air must be examined before continuing.
“EMS checks vitals and blood pressure,” he said. “It keeps everybody safe.”
Despite the building’s heavy smoke damage, Glenn’s guess was that the Coneburg could be restored — depending on what owner Lindsey Marshall’s insurance company decides.
“As far as structurally, it looks to me like it could be restored,” he said.
A spokesman for Peabody’s Association of Churches said families in sudden need, such as Coneburg employees, could be helped via a special account the group maintains.
Checks to help Coneburg employees can be made payable to the Association of Churches with “Coneburg” written on the memo line and deposited at Vintage Bank in Peabody or Hillsboro.
Every dollar donated will go to the Coneburg family, he said. There are no administrative fees.
He also said the association would discuss what other ways it could help the families when members meet Friday. Christmas relief for employees’ children will be included in the discussions.
A second bank account at Vintage Bank has been set up to help in the wake of Sunday’s fire. Donations can be made at any Vintage Bank location.
Pop’s Diner has set out a donation box.
Peabody resident Samantha Wilson posted on social media that she was accepting donations to help employees left with no income during the Christmas season.
“You can drop them off to 308½ N. Walnut, and I’ll be sure they get to where they need to go,” Wilson said.
A GoFundMe account, “Aid Families Affected by Coneburg Inn Fire,” also was started.
GoFundMe charges a transaction fee.
Despite repeated attempts, Marshall could not be reached for comment.