Johnston Street Popeye’s Fire Ruled Accidental

At 6:30 am Tuesday Lafayette Firefighters responded to a fire at Popeye's on Johnston Street. An employee arriving for work noticed heavy smoke inside and called 911. A smoldering fire was discovered in a storage area at the rear of the kitchen and quickly extinguished but the building suffered heavy smoke damage. According to Alton Trahan with the Lafayette Fire Department video surveillance indicated the fire started at 3:00 am in a plastic trash container used to discard oily rags. Investigators ruled the fire an accident that may have occurred by spontaneous heating.