Passerby douses kitchen fire

Photo: Colton Davies

A good samaritan walking down Main Street extinguished a kitchen fire at Penticton's Capitol Restaurant on Thursday morning.

Brian Galenzoski, a former firefighter in Naramata, said large flames were coming from the restaurant's kitchen when he walked in to drop off a card for his window cleaning business.

He quickly grabbed a fire extinguisher and managed to put out the fire.  

"He's a hero," restaurant owner Georgia Peterson said. The extent of the damage isn't yet known, but Peterson added that Galenzoski saved the fire from being much worse.

Members of the Penticton Fire Department arrived at the scene minutes after the fire was reported, which had been put out upon their arrival. Deputy Chief Chris Forster said he could see a lot of smoke from the firehall, located about three blocks away. 

Fire crews were continuing to assess the restaurant 30 minutes after the fire reportedly started.

The 200 block of Main Street is temporarily blocked off to traffic while crews remain on scene.