At 10:11 am the Bismarck Fire Department responded to a report of a fire in a coffee roaster at Country House Deli, 1045 E. Interstate Avenue. Upon arrival, firefighters found smoke showing from the roof area of the strip mall. Firefighters were met outside by the business’ workers, and found that a small fire had occurred in the bottom of the coffee roaster. The fire had been extinguished immediately by the employees, and they had also shut the gas and electric supplies off to the roaster. Firefighters investigated and found an air handling unit motor had malfunctioned at the same time. The overheated motor was the source of most of the smoke from the roof area. They ventilated the business to clear smoke from both the roaster and the air handling unit.
There was slight damage to the roaster, and the air handling unit had to be shut down for repairs. Business was expected to resume after cleanup was completed.