Middlebury Pizza has close call

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A charred trash cart sits near melted siding outside Middlebury Pizza October 9. Middlebury Police Officer Dan Gillotti emptied his fire extinguisher as he stopped a fire in the trash cart, preventing more serious damage to the building. (Marjorie Needham photo)

By MARJORIE NEEDHAM

A good Samaritan and a ringing phone averted what could have been a major fire at the Middlebury Hamlet Wednesday, October 9. Shortly after 8 a.m., Officer Dan Gillotti was headed westbound on Middlebury Road by Fenn Pond when a motorist headed eastbound flagged him down and said, “I think a building is on fire.” About the same time, the phone at Middlebury Pizza started ringing, and owner Feta Ajdari went to answer it. As he did, he caught the scent of smoke wafting through the back door, opened the door and found a trash cart next to the building on fire and the siding on the building melting.

Ajdari was throwing water on the fire when Gillotti arrived on the scene, grabbed his fire extinguisher and ran to the fire. He said flames were roughly 8 feet high when he arrived, but the fire extinguisher quickly doused them.

The Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department arrived just after Gillotti put out the fire. Fire Chief Brett Kales said they had gotten the call at 8:15 a.m. “Thank God the police department got here when they did or it would have been much worse,” Kales said.

Ajdari was grateful to both Officer Gillotti and the person who called. “We were saved by the bell,” he said. He noted he usually comes in early, well before the business opens at 11 a.m., “but I don’t start a fire.”

MVFD remained on the scene until they were sure the fire was not going to reignite. Fire Marshal Tony Bruno was gathering information he will use to determine the cause of the fire. Based on what Ajdari told officials, he had taken a load of trash that was paper and some grease to the dumpster, returned with the trash cart and gone inside the building with no fire visible in the trash cart. When he smelled smoke and stepped outside, he found the trash cart in flames.

The Middlebury Hamlet is at 1255 Middlebury Road. In addition to Middlebury Pizza, it is home to a number of small businesses including Brass City Ballet and Middlebury Fine Wine.