A fire broke out late Saturday night at the New Moon restaurant building on Third Avenue in Prince Rupert.
At approximately 12:30 a.m., Prince Rupert Fire Department crews were alerted to a blaze in one of the upper levels of the building and began immediate action to extinguish the flames.
No injuries were reported, but fire chief Dave Mckenzie said it was still too early to enter the premises and investigate the cause at 10:15 a.m. Sunday morning.
“The building will need major repair. The apartments [above the restaurant] won't be used again. The apartments themselves took severe damage – lots of water damage throughout the floor and kitchen,” said Mckenzie.
“It looks like it started on the second floor, but we're pretty early into it. It's not safe for us to go in yet.”
The neighbouring buildings suffered minimal water damage and should be able to continue business or residential operations soon, noted the chief.
The fire was extinguished at 4 a.m. Sunday morning, with minor “hot spots in small sections” to deal with after the majority of the blaze was doused.
Police and fire rescue have closed off the area to pedestrians and cars while they investigate the nature of the fire.
Several nearby residences and businesses suffered power outages as a result of the activity.