Fire destroys family seafood restaurant on Cape Cod, owner vows to rebuild
A massive fire damaged a restaurant on Cape Cod in Massachusetts on Sunday morning, forcing it to be torn down.
The fire happened shortly before 5:30 a.m. at Captain Scott's Seafood Restaurant on Tupper Road in Sandwich. Sandwich Fire Chief John Burke said heavy smoke and flames were seen coming out of the back of the building. Burke said the fire appeared to be coming from the basement and crews had to get out of the building when the first floor became unsteady.
"When I got here, it was pretty engulfed in flames," said Captain Scott's owner George Gossios, Jr. "And in my mind was, I can't believe this is happening."
Fire caused gas leak
Fire departments from Bourne, Plymouth, Cotuit, Barnstable and West Barnstable all assisted in putting the fire out. Additional fire crews noticed the building's natural gas regulator burned off, which caused a gas leak in the building. To ensure the fire was completely extinguished, the building had to be torn down.
"It's emotional. It's something dear to my heart, it's my family's business. I've been here since I was 11 years old and now I'm 47," said Gossios.
The fire was put out at 12:30 p.m.
"It's been a stubborn fire with pockets turning up in the basement and other parts of the building," said Burke.
Sandwich community devastated
"This has always been the restaurant that we brought our friends to, people from out of town," said longtime customer David Buckman. "We'd bring them to Captain Scott's, 1978 we first came here."
"We live in Plymouth, so when we always come over the bridge, it was like fairy tale coming to Sandwich," said longtime customer Frimma Buckman.
It's a sad sight for Heather Miller as well. She told WBZ-TV she grew up with Gossios and used to frequent the restaurant as a teenager when his parents were still running it.
"Sandwich is a very small, homebased community," said Miller. "And for something like this to happen, it's detrimental."
Owner plans to rebuild
One firefighter was evaluated on the scene for exhaustion but was not taken to the hospital. Gossios told WBZ-TV he plans to rebuild.
"Now we're going to just have to rebuild again," said Gossios. "This is a strong community, a strong family and we're going to start with rebuilding from there."
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Sandwich Fire Department and the Massachusetts State Fire Marshal's Office but Burke said he's looking at an electrical fire being a possible cause.
