Only a shell of a Southington pizza shop is left after fire broke out early this morning and spread from the back of the building to the roof.
The fire at Renaldo's Pizza on North Main Street was reported around 1:30 a.m. and crews are boarding up the restaurant and beginning to clean up the damage fire caused.
“I almost want to cry, like literally. It’s a shame. It’s a well-known place in town, it’s been here forever. Just speechless,” Adam Scheck, a Renaldo’s employee, said.
It was a difficult fight for firefighters, who had to punch holes through the roof to put out the flames.
"We couldn’t get at it with our hoses. We had to open it up, cut multiple holes in the roof and multiple access areas in the ceiling to get at the fire,” Captain Mark Soucier said.
He said smoke caused extensive damage to the inside of the restaurant, particularly the kitchen.
No one was inside when the fire broke out and an investigation is underway to determine what caused it.
