OKI restaurant damaged during early morning fire

OAK ISLAND, NC (WWAY) — Oak Island Fire Department responded to a fire at a restaurant early Monday morning.

Firefighters were dispatched shortly before 2:30 a.m. to the The Pirates Deck restaurant on East Oak Island Drive.

The crews arrived they noticed the outdoor seating area and rear wall of the restaurant were on fire. The blaze had also spread to the attic space and areas just inside the building.

It was put under control by 3:12 a.m.

The OKI fire department says the seals on one of two liquid propane (LP) fuel tanks at the property was damaged.

“The damaged seals caused the LP tank to begin “off-loading” fuel, which was ignited,” the department wrote in a release. “Units on scene maintained a water spray on the tank, to keep it cool and prevent explosion until the flames from the off-loading fuel were spent.”

Shortly after 5:00 a.m., crews from AmeriGas / Campbell Propane out of Supply were able to safely remove the damaged tank, and the scene was cleared at 5:30 a.m.

No other businesses or homes were affected by the fire; and although damage to the attic and some interior space occurred, the building remains structurally in-tact.

Fire investigators don’t believed the fire to be suspicious.