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Saturday
March 20, 2010 Since 1922 |
Prank leaves Baytown restaurant soaked
By Jane Howard Lee
Contributor Published July 7, 2009 A man who claimed to be from the fire department tricked a local restaurant manager into taking action that resulted in a costly incident Sunday.
Baytown police said that at about 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, the general manager of the Arby’s on Garth Road answered a telephone call at the fast-food establishment and spoke with a man who claimed to be with the Baytown Fire Department. That man told the manager that he needed to pull the lever for the fire suppression equipment to enable a test to be performed, but assured him that the system was off and that nothing would happen.
The manager did as instructed and at first nothing did happen, but the caller told him to pull the lever again.
That time something did happen. The fire suppression system did what it was supposed to do. Sprayers in the ceiling sprayed out a fire suppressing foam on cooking areas and other locations.
The caller told the manager that he and any other employees present should immediately vacate the premises and also break out windows to ventilate the area. The manager did order an evacuation but did not break the windows. Meanwhile, another manager at the Arby’s called the fire department to check up on the caller and learned that no one associated with Baytown Fire Department was making the call.
Damage to the store is estimated at about $600 but the loss of business will cost far more than that. According to Baytown Detective Lt. Eric Freed, the store had to remain closed during the clean up and until getting an inspection and approval from Baytown Health Department to reopen.
This is not an isolated incident, Freed said.
An Arby’s in Clear Lake received a similar call but followed the instructions from the caller even further and broke out the windows of the restaurant, according to Freed.
The Jack-In-The-Box on Decker Drive in Baytown also got a similar call, but did not do anything that the caller said to do, he said.
“We’re asking the public for help on this one,” said Freed. “This is somebody with a working knowledge of fast-food restaurants and it is the kind of thing that somebody is talking or bragging about. Somebody knows who it is and we want somebody to call us.”
Anyone with information about the incidents can call the Baytown Police Department’s non-emergency line at (281) 427-8371 or call Baytown Crime Stoppers and remain anonymous while providing a tip and possibly earning a cash reward. Call Baytown Crime Stoppers at (281) 427-TIPS.
Contributor Published July 7, 2009 A man who claimed to be from the fire department tricked a local restaurant manager into taking action that resulted in a costly incident Sunday.
Baytown police said that at about 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, the general manager of the Arby’s on Garth Road answered a telephone call at the fast-food establishment and spoke with a man who claimed to be with the Baytown Fire Department. That man told the manager that he needed to pull the lever for the fire suppression equipment to enable a test to be performed, but assured him that the system was off and that nothing would happen.
The manager did as instructed and at first nothing did happen, but the caller told him to pull the lever again.
That time something did happen. The fire suppression system did what it was supposed to do. Sprayers in the ceiling sprayed out a fire suppressing foam on cooking areas and other locations.
The caller told the manager that he and any other employees present should immediately vacate the premises and also break out windows to ventilate the area. The manager did order an evacuation but did not break the windows. Meanwhile, another manager at the Arby’s called the fire department to check up on the caller and learned that no one associated with Baytown Fire Department was making the call.
Damage to the store is estimated at about $600 but the loss of business will cost far more than that. According to Baytown Detective Lt. Eric Freed, the store had to remain closed during the clean up and until getting an inspection and approval from Baytown Health Department to reopen.
This is not an isolated incident, Freed said.
An Arby’s in Clear Lake received a similar call but followed the instructions from the caller even further and broke out the windows of the restaurant, according to Freed.
The Jack-In-The-Box on Decker Drive in Baytown also got a similar call, but did not do anything that the caller said to do, he said.
“We’re asking the public for help on this one,” said Freed. “This is somebody with a working knowledge of fast-food restaurants and it is the kind of thing that somebody is talking or bragging about. Somebody knows who it is and we want somebody to call us.”
Anyone with information about the incidents can call the Baytown Police Department’s non-emergency line at (281) 427-8371 or call Baytown Crime Stoppers and remain anonymous while providing a tip and possibly earning a cash reward. Call Baytown Crime Stoppers at (281) 427-TIPS.