NORWAY — The restaurant next door to a boarding house that burned down Monday won’t be open for weeks, owner Chris Farrar said Tuesday.

The building, which houses Ari’s Pizza and Subs as well as several apartments, sustained damage not only from the fire, but from water sprayed on the building to extinguish flames.

“I really don’t know what I’m in for yet,” Farrar said. He said a fire inspector said there could be a lot of work ahead, and that repairs in the restaurant might not start until next week.

According to Farrar, one tenant woke up to the sound of water hitting the side of the building. The five tenants who were home at the time all escaped safely, he said.

One tenant can’t go back to her apartment, Farrar said, because of water and smoke damage inside. He said she had just moved from Farmington after her former home burned down there.

She had just moved in about two or three weeks ago. He said the ceiling had partially collapsed in her apartment due to water damage. She wasn’t home at the time of the fire, Farrar said.

Farrar said he wanted to repair the apartment so the tenant could move back in as soon as possible. He said two more apartments received minimal damage.

He said his sump pump ran all day Monday, as water had run through the walls into the basement.

treaves@sunjournal.com

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