BEDFORD -- Fire officials in Bedford said a fire that gutted part of the Olde Liberty Station Restaurant this morning may have started when a painting crew was heating wood to strip paint.
The fire, which began around 11:15 a.m. before the restaurant opened, sent two employees to the hospital complaining of smoke inhalation, but they are fine now, said Zeph Cunninghman, deputy chief of the Bedford Volunteer Fire Department.
The restaurant, a community gathering place located in a building that once served as the city's train station, will re-open, said owner Harry Leist.
At one point, up to 70 firefighters were battling the fire, which spread from the left rear side of the restaurant where the painting crew was working.