Halifax pub damaged in afternoon fire

The Stubborn Goat Gastropub in downtown Halifax has been damaged by a fire that broke out around 3 p.m. AT Monday.

The Grafton Street pub was closed at the time, so no customers were inside, and the staff who were prepping for dinner got out safely.

Halifax Fire assistant chief Kevin Dean said 32firefighters and eight units responded and got the fire under control quickly.

"It was a fully involved kitchen fire with lots of heavy smoke encountered by the crew when they first made entry, but they quickly found the fire and knocked it down and contained it pretty much to the kitchen area," Dean said.

The pub was filled with smoke by the time one of the owners,Geir Simensen, got there from his office, about 20 metres away.

"I went immediately to the front door and as soon as I opened it, I couldn't see three feet into the pub," he said.

A big cleanup job is now ahead, Simensen said, in what is another unexpected blow following a difficult time through the COVID-19pandemic.

"The smoke damage is definitely going to be severe, there was a lot of that, but most importantly no one was hurt," he said. "We're not sure what we're going to do from here."

Dean said fire investigators will take over the scene as they attempt to determine the cause of the fire.