'We were lucky' Preston Italian restaurant owner shares moment fire started and diners evacuated

A restaurant owner in Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston, believes his business could have been destroyed had a fire broken out overnight rather than during a busy Friday evening service.

Antonio Costanza praised staff at Il Gusto d’Italia, on Watery Lane, after they acted quickly to evacuate diners and tackle the blaze.

The incident happened on Friday when an electrical box in a downstairs alcove began smoking while customers were enjoying their evening meals. Among them was a party of 20 upstairs celebrating a birthday, who had been seated for just 10 minutes when they were instructed to vacate the building.

Mr Costanza explained that a cable inside an electrical cupboard had apparently overheated and melted, starting a fire. One member of staff quickly grabbed a fire extinguisher and tackled the flames while colleagues escorted customers outside.Around a dozen employees were working in the kitchen and restaurant at the time.

Mr Costanza praised their response, saying: “Everybody was collaborating, so everybody was on board straight away.”

Although staff had tackled the flames before firefighters arrived, smoke continued to seep out from the cupboard.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service sent three fire engines from Preston, Penwortham and Bamber Bridge to the scene at 7.56pm. Firefighters used a thermal imaging camera and dry powder extinguisher, remaining at the restaurant for around two hours.

Mr Costanza believes the consequences could have been much worse had the fire started when the restaurant was closed and nobody was there to raise the alarm and nip it in the bud.

“There’s so much wood in the restaurant,” he said, explaining how quickly the flames could potentially have spread.

The restaurant was forced to close for the remainder of Friday evening, with dining and delivery orders cancelled.

Electrical engineers were called in to carry out repairs, working until late that night to restore the power supply. However, the restaurant was able to reopen on Saturday afternoon.

Mr Costanza said customers had been understanding about the disruption, and the business had received numerous messages of support through Facebook, Instagram and telephone calls. He also contacted the family whose birthday celebration had been interrupted to apologise.

However, the birthday girl's mother reassured him that the important thing was that nobody had been hurt. He believes the incident will certainly make it a birthday to remember.

Il Gusto d’Italia has been a fixture in Ashton for a decade, having opened in 2016 as a sister restaurant to the original Bamber Bridge establishment, founded in 2010.

The family restaurant specialises in traditional Italian dishes, including wood-fired pizzas, and has built up a loyal following over the years.

Mr Costanza said many customers were regular visitors, with some coming every week. Despite the disruption and lost trade, he was relieved that everyone had escaped unharmed and that the restaurant had reopened so quickly. With the busy Christmas season approaching, he is now hoping for a trouble-free few weeks ahead.

“Touch wood,” he joked.