Fire Guts Burbank Deli, Damages 2 Other Businesses

A fire that apparently began in a deep-fat fryer gutted a Burbank delicatessen Wednesday and spread to two neighboring businesses, causing an estimated $522,000 in damage, a Burbank Fire Department spokesman said.

The fire broke out in the kitchen of Victor’s Delicatessen and Restaurant at the corner of West Magnolia Boulevard and Hollywood Way, Capt. Bill Sanders of the Burbank Fire Department said. It spread to stores on either side of the restaurant after being drawn through an air vent into a common attic, he added.

Sanders said the fire did $360,000 in damage to the restaurant and $112,000 in damage to the Del Reo Fashions clothing store. It also caused an estimated $50,000 in damage to the ceiling of Dr. Merle E. Goldstone’s Optometry on Hollywood Way.

30 People Inside

Jim Dawson, manager of a service station across the street from the delicatessen, said about 30 people were inside the 3,200-square-foot restaurant when he saw heavy smoke emerging from the roof about 10:30 a.m. He ran inside to warn the owner, he said, and saw flames spreading from a deep-fat fryer upward into an air vent.

The delicatessen was immediately evacuated before the ceiling collapsed and no one was injured, Sanders said.

Traffic was snarled when Burbank police and firemen closed off the intersection of West Magnolia and Hollywood Way while the fire was being fought. Sanders said the intersection was reopened about 2:30 p.m. after the fire was controlled.