New Bedford firefighters quickly contained a commercial kitchen fire Tuesday afternoon, preventing what officials said could have become a devastating blaze.
At approximately 2 p.m., crews responded to a reported fire at Hong King Restaurant. Upon arrival, firefighters from Engine 9 found a well-involved commercial oven fire that had already extended to a second oven. Restaurant staff had attempted to extinguish the flames with a portable dry chemical fire extinguisher before firefighters arrived.
Engine 9 deployed a dry chemical extinguisher to quickly contain the fire, successfully limiting damage to the two commercial oven units and preventing the blaze from spreading throughout the building or to neighboring businesses.
As suppression efforts continued, Ladder 4 evaluated the building’s rooftop ventilation and exhaust systems, confirming there was no evidence the fire had spread through the roof or into adjacent occupancies. At the same time, crews from Engine 8 and Engine 5 searched neighboring businesses and found no smoke infiltration or fire extension.
Following the incident, Eversource Gas personnel identified multiple small leaks in the kitchen’s gas supply piping. The affected gas lines were red-tagged and must be repaired and successfully pressure tested before gas service can be restored.
The New Bedford Health Department directed restaurant management to discard all food products and food-contact containers that may have been contaminated during the incident.
Hong King Restaurant will remain closed until the kitchen has been professionally cleaned, the gas system has been repaired and pressure tested, and all required inspections have been completed.
No injuries were reported among restaurant staff or responding firefighters.
