Fire Worries Brides-to-Be

An early-morning strip mall fire caused some pre-nuptial nervousness in Linwood, New Jersey. The fire broke out just before 6:00 a.m. on Monday inside Barrel's restaurant in the Central Square shopping mall. Fire damage was contained inside the restaurant, but smoke and water damage spread to Natalie's Bridal Shop next door.

Anthony Gualtieri/RESTAURANT OWNER: "It breaks my heart to walk in and see all the work we've done, melted."

A melted cash register, singed equipment and charred supplies are what were left in the wake of the early morning fire at Barrel's Restaurant. It appears to have been caused by a faulty gas valve on a steam table in the kitchen of the three generation family-owned restaurant. While the flames did not spread beyond the kitchen, the adjoining Natalie's Bridal Salon suffered smoke and water damage. The news sparked worry among the dozens of Natalie's brides-to-be who are planning to take their vows soon.

Kim Burns fought back tears as she rushed to Natalie's to check on the dress for her September wedding.

Kim Burns/BEESLEYS POINT, NJ: "I've had a string of bad luck planning my wedding and this was the last thing we needed." "There might have been smoke damage but the dress was triple bagged."

Natalie's owners are assessing the extent of any damages to dresses. They shipped current wedding apparel to a clean storage space and are reassuring the customers they're outfitting that their wedding apparel will be fine.

Stephan Powell/OWNER'S SON: "We're trying to do what we can with what is there, whether it's cleaning it, whether it's replacing it. But the important thing is people that are calling and getting married, we want to make sure they're taken care of."

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Author: 6 ABC-AP