Advertisement. Advertise with us

Fire Chief: Christopher’s Blaze

Started In Front Dining Room

Oneonta Assistant Fire Chief Jim Maloney, front, confers with fire investigators, while Don Tubia, left, helps sift through the rubble of the front right corner, where the early-morning fire that destroyed Christopher’s Restaurant is believed to have started. (Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)

By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

ONEONTA – The overnight fire that destroyed Christopher’s Restaurant on Southside started in the front right corner of the building, a dining area, according to Oneonta Fire Chief Patrick Pigeon.

A passerby called the fire in at 2:20 a.m. and crews arrived less than five minutes later to find the fire fully involved. “We started an aggressive attack through the front doors, but after 10 minutes, we realized it wasn’t going to work,” said Pigeon. “The fire was already up in the roof system.”

According to Pigeon, they spent another 20 minutes inside trying to battle the blaze, but with so many rooms, the fire was impossible to contain. “We would douse one room, and the fire would just be pushed to the next,” he said.

Patrick Grace, son of owners Marty and Brenda Patton, stands with his son PJ and the head chef Greg Miller at the scene of the fire that destroyed Oneonta’s landmark eatery early this morning. (Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)

Outside, crews dug a trench to keep the fire from spreading, and by 3 a.m., crews had pulled out of the building. An aerial truck was brought in to douse the fire from overhead.

“In two years, we’re going to have fire hydrants out here,” said Bob Wood, Town of Oneonta supervisor. “That would have made all the difference in the world.”

The fire remains under investigation, and accelerant-sniffing dogs are being brought to the scene.

The owners, Marty and Brenda Patton, are in Florida, but their son, Patrick Grace, was on hand to survey the damage. “There’s 50 years of history just gone,” he said. “I called my dad, but he didn’t say much.”

Among the items lost was a coat worn by Kevin Costner in “Dances With Wolves,” the 1990 Best Picture winner.

Posted

6 Comments

  1. I believe that if it started in the dining area there must have been some sort of flameible liquid in the area of it was on purpose then they might use something to cover their tracks there for they would get money for replacements.

  2. How sad that such a wonderful restaurant that holds so many memories for so many is gone. I hope they can build another in its place

  3. Marty Patten’s son is smiling in the picture while the fire fighters go thru the rubble of Christopher’s ????isnt that an odd emotion to have after a catastrophe like that ???

  4. I will miss this place. Loved the food and the motel. So quaint. Hope they rebuild but will never be able to make it look the same. Hope the motel will still be available.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Related Articles

Killer Ricky Knapp Dies In Prison

Killer Knapp Dies In Prison; Guilty In SUNY Coed’s Death ONEONTA – Ricky Knapp, the man convicted of the 1977 death of SUNY Oneonta student, has died in Mohawk Correctional Facility, according to prison records. Knapp, 66, died March 8, having served 40 years of a 25-to-life sentence for a 1978 manslaughter conviction in the death of 18-year-old Linda Velzy, a SUNY student from Long Island. According to reports, Velzy was last seen Dec. 9 1977, hitchhiking in downtown Oneonta.…

HAPPENIN’ OTSEGO: 05-29-23

HAPPENIN’ OTSEGO for MONDAY, MAY 29 Otsego County Remembers The Fallen ONEONTA MEMORIAL DAY PARADE —10 a.m. Commemorate our country’s fallen soldiers. The day will begin with a parade (line-up at 9 a.m. and step off at 10), to commemorate Chief Warrant Officer 3 Christopher Robert Eramo. A riderless horse will be included as a salute to the fallen, with CWO3 Shawn Hubner, who serves in the deceased’s unit, hand carrying the battalion colors from Fort Wainwright to Oneonta and marching in the honor guard. After the parade will be a ceremony of remembrance at 11 a.m. on the Veterans Memorial…

Riverside Students Plant Apple Trees, Help Restore Piece of Oneonta History

Riverside Students Plant Apple Trees, Help Restore Piece of Oneonta History ONEONTA On Friday, April 28, the City of Oneonta planted an apple orchard on the Swart-Wilcox House Museum property with the help of Riverside Elementary School students. The planting was made possible thanks to funds obtained by City Community Development Director Judy Pangman through a special “Tree Planting in Disadvantaged Communities after Ash Tree Loss” grant. The new apple orchard at the Swart-Wilcox House consists of several heritage varieties of apples, just like the Wilcox family would have had in the 1880s. As part of his farming activities, Henry…