BUCKHANNON, WV — On Saturday evening, Fire Departments from Buckhannon, Adrian District, and Warren District responded to a call at the CJ Maggie’s building, located at 16 E Main St.

Smoke began to circulate throughout the building, and was later discovered to be the result of an air handling belt failure on the second floor. Six fire trucks arrived on the scene, and fire crews were able to ensure minimal smoke damage. According to Fire Chief James “JB” Kimble and Mayor David McCauley, there was no fire damage to the building.

“It was an air handling belt. What happened is that the motor ceased up, the belt kept turning, which caused a lot of smoke. Then, it got in the air handling system and put smoke throughout the building,” Fire Chief Kimble told Mountaineer Journal. “The unit was on the second floor, but most of the smoke was on the first floor. It was a $20 belt, but we found it; that’s the main thing.”

Mayor McCauley further elaborated, and addressed the next step for CJ Maggie’s after the incident.

“[The Fire Departments] got to it in time before the motor caught on fire. There was just smoke and just sparks; no fire damage.” McCauley told Mountaineer Journal. “They said in the morning, they’ll try to fix the air conditioner and see if they can open.”

In a brief statement on social media, Mayor McCauley praised the fire departments for their quick response and effective performance.

“Incident at CJ Maggie’s this evening, but quick work by the staff, and super fast action by our excellent fire department guys kept smoke damage to a minimum.”

Fire crews were lined up on Main Street, temporarily closing off sections of the street between Kanawha and Spring. Due to their timely response and skillful search of the building, discovering the source of the smoke, they were able to secure the location before any fire started and ignited the restaurant.