FARMINGTON – Nothing draws crowds out to the theater like a highly hyped flick and hot buttered popcorn.

On Wednesday afternoon, though, a batch of popcorn got too hot and sent about 30 Mount Abram High School students who were at the Narrow Gauge Cinema for a matinee showing of the new “Peter Pan” movie scurrying out the door.

The Fire Department received a call just after 2 p.m. after smoke detectors at the cinema began going off because a batch of popcorn was burning, said fire Chief Terry Bell.

Eight firefighters, an engine and a ladder truck responded to the call and used special fans called smoke ejectors to pull the gray smoke from the cinema lobby.

The scene was cleared within 20 minutes and the students, who were waiting outside in a school bus to beat the minus 7 degree temperature, were allowed back into the theater, an employee there said.

The theater opened to the public at its regular time later that evening.

Bell, who has been with the department since 1977, said he can’t remember a similar incident happening before.

sdepoy@sunjournal.com

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