No injuries in small fire at Bernini that closes restaurant for two nights

LACONIA — No one was injured in a small fire Thursday at Bernini Italian Pizzeria and Wine Bar that closed the restaurant for two nights.

A small fire in the walls of the pizzeria drew 20 firefighters from Laconia, Gilford and Belmont. An employee at Bernini called 911 to report the fire, and firefighters arrived at the scene at 3:52 p.m.

“We had to call the fire department as we smelled burning wood inside the walls, saw smoke and the men’s room was extremely hot to the touch,” the restaurant wrote in a Facebook post after the incident. “Everyone is safe thank God, and we are lucky we caught it early.”

The accident was determined to be an electrical fire that occurred due to a problem with the grill system, according to Laconia Fire Chief Tim Joubert. The grill was too close to the wall and heated up said wall, causing heat to be transferred to the wood framing and burning it. This eventually caused a small electrical fire that was contained to the men’s bathroom.

The fire was small, and the first responders had to break into the walls to reach the fire. Firefighters brought a handline hose into the building to put it out, but instead used a fire extinguisher to finish the job.

The restaurant was closed Thursday and Friday nights to make repairs, and will open back up at 4 p.m. on Saturday for dinner service.

Joubert said what saved the building was calling 911 so early. He also said in order to prevent another accident like this happening in the future, to make sure appliances follow safety measures and are installed properly.