General News: Drew's Closed by Fire Saturday Night
Andy Doehla in the kitchen last year.
May 24, 2010
The chef and co-owner of Drew’s on the Square had to change hats quickly on Saturday night when he went from chef to firefighter after a fire broke out at his popular Cornwall-on-Hudson venue shortly before 9:30 pm.
Alexis Doehla, who runs the restaurant and bar with her husband, Andrew, says they both smelled smoke and Andrew called in the fire, then headed down to the Storm King Fire Engine Company on Hudson Street to put on his gear and return with the other firefighters.
SKFE Chief Jeff Armitage says he is awaiting the results of a county fire investigation but added that the fire apparently started after a cigarette was tossed in a hole on the outside of the building. Armitage says that there is a hole in the wall about the size of a basketball that may have been a kitchen vent at one time and is now stuffed with rags and insulation. He also notes that the surrounding area was littered with cigarette butts.
Armitage reports that the fire was knocked down within 30 minutes. “They are very lucky because it happened when someone was still there to report it,” he said. Restaurant patrons had to evacuate the building, which remained closed on Sunday with gas and electric power still cut off.
Alexis Doehla says except for an opening in the wall that was made to get access to the fire, there is no damage in the kitchen and they expect to re-open for normal business hours on Tuesday
