Hoa Nguyen

htnguyen@lohud.com

MAHOPAC – When firefighters opened the door to the Olympic Diner on Saturday afternoon, they found 20 or so patrons enjoying their meals and employees still working inside despite smoke drifting through the air.

Diner owner Nick Tsakonitis greeted the firefighters upon their arrival around 3 p.m. to say there was nothing to worry about. A chilly morning had prompted Tsakonitis to turn on the diner's heating system for the first time this season and the smoke likely was a byproduct that would dissipate with time, he told them.

But fire officials ignored the explanation and continued to walk through the eatery, finding the air growing thicker with smoke. They stopped in the kitchen where a sound in the walls between the stove and walk-in cooler piqued their interest, Mahopac Fire Chief Billy Bahr said.

"We could hear crackling in the walls," he said.

A fire was brewing inside the walls. For the next hour and a half, firefighters battled the blaze, moving heavy appliances blocking the wall and cutting through the stainless steel that prevented them from positioning their hoses close to the flames, Bahr said. Crews also climbed to the roof of the building to extinguish the blaze as the fire began moving up.

Meanwhile, firefighters and emergency responders from neighboring municipalities arrived to help. To get as much water as possible to the scene, firefighters even had to unravel 750 feet of hose to a hydrant in neighboring Somers, Bahr said.

No one was hurt as crews successfully got the fire under control, Bahr said. Investigators were called to look into what might have caused the blaze. Health officials also were contacted and officials said it may be some time before the diner reopens. There was extensive damage to the kitchen.

Tsakonitis said he has owned the diner for about 35 years and that he plans to make repairs and reopen.

"Everything will be fixed," he said.

It's not the first time a fire has damaged the diner. In 1996, a fire that also began inside a wall forced the diner to close for repairs, although in that case the damage was minor.