EASTHAMPTON — A fire at Tavern on the Hill late Friday night and early Saturday morning has forced the Mountain Road restaurant to close until further notice.
According to the city’s Fire Department, the fire was reported at 11:15 p.m. Friday by someone passing by the restaurant who noticed smoke and flames.
Crews responding to the scene found flames both inside and outside the building. On its Facebook page, however, the Fire Department says the fire was contained within a limited section of the restaurant, which appeared to minimize the loss of structure and contents.
No one was in the building at the time, and there were no injuries, officials said.
A second alarm brought in mutual aid from several other area fire departments, including from Holyoke, Northampton, Southampton, and South Hadley Fire Department District 1, as well as the Barnes Air National Guard Fire Department, the Westover Fire Department, and the Easthampton Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).
The fire was contained by the early morning and is now under investigation by the state fire marshal’s office.
“Our thoughts are with the owners of Tavern on the Hill as they begin the recovery efforts from this event,” the Easthampton Fire Department said, “and we know the community will support them as they begin this process.”
On their Facebook page, Tavern on the Hill owners said they have begun to assess the damage to the building and would keep customers informed as to when the restaurant can reopen. They also praised firefighters for their quick response to the fire.
“We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the Easthampton fire department as well as crews from Holyoke and Northampton for doing such a great job containing what could have been a catastrophic fire,” they said.
A message left Sunday for the owners was not returned.
Steve Pfarrer can be reached at spfarrer@gazettenet.com.