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Hot belt sets off smoke detectors

Customers evacuated from Prime Sirloin

Prime Sirloin Buffet at the Meadows intersection was briefly evacuated Sunday morning when a fan belt on the HVAC unit overheated and set off smoke detectors. Mirror photo by Sean Sauro

Prime Sirloin Buffet restaurant at the Meadows intersection was evacuated for a little more than an hour Sunday morning when a fan belt on the HVAC unit overheated and set off smoke detectors, according to owner Don Delozier.

The alarms went off a little before 10 a.m., and the restaurant reopened at 11:15 a.m., Delozier said.

Shortly after 10 a.m., firefighters could be seen walking on the roof of the restaurant, as diners milled around near their cars in an adjacent parking lot.

No outward flames were showing at that time.

Fire police were positioned near the lot’s entrance, while trucks from Phoenix, Duncansville and Allegheny Township volunteer fire departments were on scene, and an AMED ambulance was parked nearby.

Daniel and Penny Hatch of Altoona were inside the restaurant when alarms sounded.

Daniel Hatch said he could smell something burning and see smoke coming from a vent.

But he said the appearance of smoke was not drastic.

“A majority of the people probably didn’t even realize it,” he said.

The restaurant was pretty well packed when the alarm sounded, and patrons were asked to exit, said Penny Hatch, who added that she and her husband visit Prime Sirloin occasionally.

The couple had only just arrived.

“We just go there and just got out plates,” Penny Hatch said. “We didn’t even get a bite.”

Delozier repeatedly expressed thanks for the help provided by the firefighters, who responded quickly, he said.

His staff did a good job getting the restaurant ready to reopen, he said.

Customers whose breakfasts were disrupted got the equivalent of a rain check, according to Delozier.

“We took care of everybody,” he said.

Mirror Staff Writer Sean Sauro is at 946-7535. Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 949-7038.

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