Workers light fireworks inside Taco Bell, Tennessee officials say. Then it caught fire
A fire that ripped through a Taco Bell in Tennessee was caused by employees playing with fireworks over the July Fourth holiday weekend, officials said.
Surveillance footage captured a shift manager and several employees lighting fireworks on July 5 at the Taco Bell on Nolensville Pike in Nashville when they accidentally locked themselves out, the Nashville Fire Department said Monday. They reportedly left a lit firework smoldering in a trash can near the door, which started the fire.
One person was arrested Monday and charged with felony aggravated arson. Officials said the investigation is ongoing and more charges are expected.
According to the fire department, investigators began looking into the incident on July 8 after the fast food restaurant’s managers reviewed surveillance footage from just before the fire.
In the footage, the employees were seen “locking the doors to the dining room to keep customers from entering the business” and “running around the inside of the store with fireworks in their hands,” the fire department said.
After disappearing inside the men’s bathroom for a short time, officials said the workers returned to the lobby and placed something in a trash can close to the door.
They then went outside to film the trash can on their cell phones.
According to the fire department, that’s when they realized they had accidentally locked themselves out.
“The employees tried unsuccessfully to get back into the store,” officials said. “When the employees saw the trash can start to smoke, they called 911 for help.”
Firefighters had to force their way into the restaurant to extinguish the fire, which caused more than $30,000 in damages to the inside of the building, the fire department said.
Investigators reportedly found more damage in the men’s bathroom where a firework was lit inside a trash can.
Surveillance footage from the incident was not immediately available Monday.
This story was originally published July 13, 2021 at 12:44 PM with the headline "Workers light fireworks inside Taco Bell, Tennessee officials say. Then it caught fire."
