Firefighters Battle Blaze At Foxboro's Lakeview Pavilion
FOXBORO (CBS) – Foxboro firefighters battled a three-alarm blaze Saturday night at the Lakeview Pavilion, a wedding and function facility on Lakeview Pond.
Crews from several different towns responded to the fast-moving fire which caused major damage to the popular venue.
Update: Fire Chief says discarded cigarette sparked the blaze.
A wedding reception was under way when the fire broke out around 7:00 p.m. but guests were evacuated safely and there were no reports of injuries.
The justice of the peace who was performing the ceremony, Jerry Cibley, said it all happened quickly.
"I just finished pronouncing the young couple husband and wife when we started the recessional, walked out followed by the grooms people and bridesmaids, then we looked up, and I thought it was fog from a fog machine," Cibely told WBZ-TV's Jim Smith. "It was kind of nice and then I took a closer look and there was a smell to it that didn't smell like a fog machine."
"The fire appeared to be spreading not only up the wall, but through the ceilings and through a good part of the structure," said Foxboro Fire Chief Steven Bagley, who noted the building did not have sprinklers.
The Lakeview Pavilion is a popular venue for wedding receptions and other events including proms.
It opened in 1906 as a dance hall and became a reception hall when the Kourtidis family bought it in 1988.
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