Accidental Fire Hits Libya’s Deli & Variety In Botsford

By Andrew Gorosko

Firefighters from all local volunteer fire companies were alerted early Tuesday morning when a fire was discovered at Libya’s Deli & Variety at 286 South Main Street.

Botsford Fire Rescue Chief Wayne Ciaccia, who was the incident commander at the 12:42 am blaze, said that when firefighters arrived, they needed to make a forced entry through the front door of a Shell gas station at that address, which is physically connected to the deli.

Once inside the gas station, firefighters then needed to make another forced entry into the deli, which was filled with smoke, Chief Ciaccia said.

About 35 firefighters from Botsford, Hook & Ladder, and Sandy Hook went to the scene, he said.

The small fire was put out quickly with the aid of water from a fire hose, he said.

The fire posed no hazard to the nearby gasoline pumps at the Shell station, Chief Ciaccia added.

The incident resulted in some burn, smoke, and water damage.

Fire Marshal Bill Halstead, who investigated the cause of the fire, said that before closing the business at about 6 pm on Monday, business owner George Kocadag had cleaned the cooking surfaces there with some cooking oil that was applied with rags.

The rags then were then placed in a plastic container. A chemical reaction apparently caused those rags to later ignite, producing the accidental fire and smoke, the fire marshal said.

Chief Halstead estimated fire-related damages at approximately $40,000. There were no injuries at the incident.

The fire marshal explained that police had received a motion-sensor alarm from 286 South Main Street, after which they went to the property and spotted smoke coming from the building. Firefighters were then called to the scene.

The fire required the deli to temporarily close until repairs could be made, Mr Halstead said. The gas station was able to remain open.