From the press release:
At approx. 3:50 a.m. on March 8th, an explosion heavily damaged the kitchen at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant, which is located at
5 Crowell Rd Asheville, NC.A small fire subsequent to the explosion was extinguished by site construction workers prior to the fire department’s arrival. Three construction workers near the explosion site were transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries; they were later released. The cause of the explosion was investigated by the Asheville Fire Marshal’s Office and the City of Asheville Building Safety Department. They were assisted by the NC Dept. of Labor (NC-OSHA), the Asheville-Buncombe Arson Task Force, and Buncombe County Environmental Health.
The explosion is believed to have been caused from flammable vapors from construction remodeling accumulating in an interior wall cavity and then ignited by a worker using an adjacent electrical outlet. The resulting explosion caused significant damage to the wall and adjacent kitchen equipment. The construction work did not have a valid building permit from the City of Asheville. The restaurant will be closed for several days until repairs are made.
Questions may be directed to the Asheville Fire Marshal’s Office 828-259-5641.
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