An early afternoon grease fire on January 27 damaged the Cask and Pig’s kitchen and has left the restaurant closed for the time being.

According to Dartmouth Fire District No. 3 Chief Richard Arruda, fire crews responded to the 780 State Road restaurant at 2:12 p.m. for a report of a fire on the building’s roof.

The first crews on scene encountered flames on the back of the roof. The building was evacuated, and crews reported the fire was under control at 2:35 p.m.

Arruda said it appears that a buildup of grease within a stove ventilation system ignited. Although the building’s fire suppression system activated and was able to control the fire inside the building, it was not able to stop the flames from spreading from the ventilation system to the roof.

“[A chef] saw an ember go up into the hood system and it quickly ignited,” Arruda said. “When he looked up inside he could see the whole hood system was on fire.”

The fire caused what Arruda estimates is in excess of $30,000 in damage to the kitchen area, which sustained substantial smoke, water, and soot damage.

The restaurant is now closed as clean-up operations commence. The stove has been taken out of service, and clean-up crews have been called.

“They’ll have to have a Board of Health inspection before the building is able to be reopened, and the fire suppression system has to be put back in service,” Arruda said.

There were no injuries reported, Arruda said.

On its Facebook page, Cask and Pig officials said the restaurant will be closed for the rest of the day and night as staff assess damage and follow protocols issued by the relevant departments.

In addition to District No. 3, fire crews from Dartmouth's two other fire districts also responded to provide station coverage and support at the scene. Mutual aid from Westport was initially called but was not available.

The Cask and Pig restaurant opened in April 2017. It is located in the former Trio restaurant, which closed its Dartmouth location in 2014.