'Very, very lucky call' credited for saving pub (+ video)

Firefighters outside the Macandrew Rd pub. Photos by Linda Robertson.
Firefighters outside the Macandrew Rd pub. Photos by Linda Robertson.
Senior Station Officer Pete Douglas talks to Robbies Bar and Bistro staff after the restaurant...
Senior Station Officer Pete Douglas talks to Robbies Bar and Bistro staff after the restaurant was evacuated following a dryer fire last night.

Robbies Bar and Bistro owners Joy and Warren Jones are feeling lucky despite a trip to the emergency department after a fire at the restaurant last night.

Mr Jones was taken to Dunedin Hospital by St John ambulance to be treated for smoke inhalation.

But the fire, which started in lint in a dryer at the restaurant in Macandrew Rd in South Dunedin just before 7pm, could have been worse.

Senior Station Officer Pete Douglas said a staff member's keen nose and a fast response caught the fire early.

"It was a very, very lucky call,'' he said.

"It could have been a lot worse.''

Before firefighters arrived, two extinguishers had been used on the fire, possibly saving the building.

Firefighters then entered the building wearing breathing apparatus and doused the blaze with a high-pressure hose, Mr Douglas said.

A Fire Service spokeswoman said firefighters left the scene at 7.38pm.

Mrs Jones said although the fire interrupted a busy dinner service, she was pleased with the outcome.

"It was lucky someone smelt something,'' she said.

"She's an old building and it could easily go up in smoke.''

About 50 customers were evacuated and everything went "pretty easily'', she said.

A St John spokesman said Mr Jones was taken to Dunedin Hospital with moderate injuries last night.

He and his wife were still there late last night.

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