Kitchen fire causes estimated $60,000 damage for Broome restaurant

A kitchen fire has caused a local Broome business an estimated $60,000 worth of damage with the restaurant confirming it will take several weeks to get back up and running. Firefighters were called to the Little Local restaurant just after 5.30 pm on Sunday afternoon in response to reports of a kitchen fire. According to Little Local operation manager Debi Tidman, the fire started when a pot of oil was left unattended on the kitchen stove. “The oil in a pot on the stove got too hot, overheated and caught fire without the staff noticing. It happened very quickly,” she said. “At first it didn’t really look that severe so a few of us stayed in there to try and put it out with the fire blanket and the fire extinguishers but it seemed to just make it worse. “At one point it looked like the whole building was about to go up but somehow I think what we did eventually managed to contain the fire to a degree.” Once firefighter arrived at the scene the fire was promptly put out but the business suffered extensive damage as a result including smoke, plumbing and electrical damage with major appliances such as the kitchen’s oven and extractor fan also damaged beyond repair. “It will probably be another two to three weeks before we can get back to our normal operating hours but it depends completely on whether we can get the people in to do the repair work,” Ms Tidman said. Thankfully the Broome community has come to the small businesses aid, Ms Tidman said, donating food items for the cafe to sell and funds to the restaurant’s GoFundMe. “We’ve had a lot of support, particularly from the community. People have overwhelmed us with their generosity and care,” she said. “We’ve had people donating on the GoFundMe page and we’re continuing to push that just because we really want to keep our current staff.” To donate to Little Local’s repair efforts, visit their GoFundMe page.