Posted: 8/6/03

Fire rips through Trails End restaurant

Joe Drennan

Staff Writer

A fire broke out at the Trails End Family Restaurant and Bar in Scandia Tuesday, July 29.

The fire started in a pile of boxes sitting just outside the building adjacent to the kitchen Spence said, but how the fire started in the boxes is unknown.

Once inside the kitchen, the fire quickly spread to the basement through a breach in the floor. New Scandia Fire Chief Steve Spence attributed the quick spread to the flat-style roof of the restaurant. ìThat kind of roof holds in the heat and smoke,î Spence said.

ìItís something you never think will happen to you and when it does you donít know what to do,î restaurant owner Jeff Fusco said. ìWeíre just trying to have a good sense of humor about it all.î

New Scandia requested mutual aid from both Forest Lake and Marine on St. Croix fire departments, bringing 20-25 firefighters to battle the blaze.

ìThere were heavy flames and smoke when we arrived on the scene,î Spence said.

After the fire was extinguished and the smoke cleared, Fusco was able to get inside and see what was left of his restaurant. The kitchen and dry storage are in the basement and were completely burned. The rest of the building sustained significant damage as well.

ìMost of the damage is heat and smoke damage,î Fusco said.

Fusco plans to reopen Trails End some time in the next few months. Working with the insurance company and waiting for the state fire marshal to complete their investigation as to how the fire started will decide how long it will be until the rebuilding and renovating can begin.

With the restaurant closed for the time being, Fusco had to think of his workers. ìThey were the first ones I thought about,î Fusco said.

For now he has them helping in cleaning out the restaurant and plans to have them help gut the building when the time comes just to keep them on the payroll and working.

ìIím fortunate enough to have great help to get this place back up and going,î Fusco said.

Trails End was also a popular place with members of the community. While firemen were still pouring water on the fire, neighbors and friends were stopping by to inquire about what happened and to see how Fusco was doing.

ìEverybody in the community has been wonderful,î Fusco said. ìThat makes things easier.î

As bad as watching his restaurant burn was, Fusco did see some good in the time that it happened.

ìIf it would have been a Friday or Saturday night I donít know how many people would have gotten out because it went up so quick,î Fusco said.

While he waits for the insurance company and fire marshal to do their business, Fusco has parked his RV in the parking lot so that he has a temporary office with a phone hook up on the site. A tractor trailer has been brought in so that anything that might be salvageable can be placed in it and the insurance company can decide its fate.

Fusco says that something like this requires patience and he didnít have any before the fire, but he is learning what it is now.

ìWeíre just hoping to get it (the restaurant) going again as soon as we can,î Fusco said. ìBut it takes a lot of time to get that done.î

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