When leaving the state capitol with the Park City Leadership group, Flanagan’s Irish Pub and Restaurant co-owner John Kenworthy said he thought it was a joke when one of the Leadership members, who is also a police officer, pulled him off the bus.
“We were just leaving and he tapped me on the shoulder," Kenworthy said. "[He] said there are fire alarms and a situation with your pub here in Park City.”
The restaurant’s assistant general manager Aisha Poole called the fire department just after 2 p.m. Monday. Park City Fire Service District Captain Ashley Lewis said crews responded quickly.
“So we were called for smoke in the building, they thought that something was on fire," Lewis said. "We have a Captain, Brandon Moore, that is standing by on Main St. right now during Sundance during this peak time of people and weather. He was able to get into Flanagan’s before we arrived and let us know that it was probably due to the furnace and that most of the smoke had ventilated out and that we could most likely handle what was going on.”
By the time they got there, Lewis said the smoke had ventilated out and after checking the furnaces, they identified it as the cool-air intake being blocked by the snow.
Lewis said the pub’s staff did a great job in quickly responding to the smoke and ushering their guests out to safety. He said with all of the snow it’s important for everyone to make sure their vents are clear in order to avoid similar incidents.
Kenworthy was pleased with his staff’s performance, saying it’s the best staff they’ve ever had.
“Always err on the side of caution," Kenworthy said. "Thank god she did the right thing, called the fire department and had everything checked out.”
The pub was back up and running by the time the fire department left 40 minutes later.