No Evidence of Arson Found in Early Morning Fire at Wayland Town Center

Employees were just arriving for work at the Pets Unleashed store in Wayland Town Center a little after 6 a.m. today, Friday, when they noticed a smoky odor and a visible haze of smoke inside the store.  

Responding to a 911 call, firefighters found the source of the smoke to be in the adjacent, and as-yet-unopened, Takara Restaurant.

The initial investigation, conducted by Lt. Rob Knox, showed that a fire had taken place, but had self-extinguished. Early investigation found no evidence of the fire being intentionally set.

Wayland Fire Department Fire Investigators Capt. Andrew Holland and Lt. James Gemelli examined the scene in great detail and were in contact with a representative of the state Fire Marshal’s Office. Examining materials at the point of ignition and interviews conducted with workmen who arrived on scene to continue construction, the cause of the fire has been determined to be spontaneous heating of rags left at the point of ignition. The rags were discarded with a residue of a commercial wood stain product that is subject to spontaneous heating. The stain itself and some surrounding combustibles contributed to the smoky fire.

Wayland Fire says flame damage in Takara was confined to the floor area near an unfinished bar, some supplies stored nearby, and some construction equipment. Although damage estimates have not been made, the investigators suspect that flame damage is less than damage caused by the sooty smoke residue that was deposited on every surface in the Takara space.

The entire tenant space including the heating and air conditioning ductwork will need to be cleaned. 

In this case, Fire Department notification was made by a telephone call from the adjacent pet store because the fire did not get hot enough to set off the sprinkler system (which is active in the entire building) and there are no active smoke detectors in the areas still under construction.

Smoke and soot migrated from the ignition source to other tenant spaces that are still under construction and the Pets Unleashed store. Those areas were checked for carbon monoxide and were ventilated. Some soot cleanup will be required.

There we no injuries and all personnel and equipment, including the investigators, were done by 9 a.m.