A Victoria restaurant popular for brunch is closed today after a kitchen fire broke out this morning.
The kitchen of the Blue Fox restaurant at 919 Fort St. caught fire at about 6:30 a.m. An aggressive attack on the flames saw the blaze stamped out and hotspots damped down by 7:30 a.m.
The fire is determined to be accidental and not suspicious.
The cook on duty was the only person in the restaurant at the time. He stood across the street and watched as firefighters put out the blaze. He was not injured, said acting battalion chief Peter Stephenson.
Blue Fox owner Rosamund Harcourt said the damage is not extensive but “it’s so difficult to tell.” She hopes the restaurant will reopen by Friday or Saturday “inside of a week.” The damage to the ground-floor restaurant is estimated to be between $10,000 and $25,000, said Lt.-Insp. Brad Sifert.
It has yet to be determined whether there is any smoke or water damage to neighbouring businesses in the 919 Fort St. complex that includes a yoga studio and offices on the top floor as well as Baback’s Oriental Carpets on the ground floor, Sifert said.
The Blue Fox has had problems in the past with fires but they are not related, Sifert said.
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