Christmas tree likely caused fire at historic Savannah restaurant, officials say

A live Christmas tree appears to have caused the fire that damaged a historic downtown Savannah restaurant Thursday, according to officials.

Savannah Fire Rescue received a call around 9:36 a.m. Thursday that The Olde Pink House Restaurant was on fire, according to agency public information officer Jenel Few.

Crews arrived about two minutes later and began extinguishing the blaze that started in the building’s second-floor ballroom, Few said.

As fire crews arrived, Few said, they noticed a ladder near the building, and several restaurant employees said they’d helped a second-floor office worker escape out of her window.

That person kicked out her window to escape and was OK aside from some minor cuts, Few said.

A video taken by Germaine Brown and posted by WTOC shows the group of workers grabbing a ladder for the woman on the second floor and helping her exit the building safely.

No workers were in the ballroom when the blaze occurred, Few said. No firefighters were hurt extinguishing the blaze.

Few said the building, which dates back to the late 1700s, suffered “heavy” damage from “smoke and fire” to the second floor and water damage to the first floor.

Fire crews cut power to the building, Few said, and it remains closed while firefighters check for “hot spots” on the second floor and in the attic.

Investigators later found that the fire originated around a Christmas tree in the ballroom, according to a news release from Savannah Fire Rescue.

Restaurant workers reported there were Christmas trees stored in the ballroom, Few said.

At the time of the blaze, there were no events happening in the ballroom, officials told The Island Packet.

Around 10 a.m. Thursday, Savannah Fire Rescue reported it was “battling a blaze in (The Olde Pink House) Restaurant ballroom,” according to the agency’s Twitter account.

About 10 minutes later, that agency tweeted the fire was extinguished.

The Olde Pink House’s construction dates back to the late 1700s, when it was built for James Habersham Jr., according to Ghost City Tours.

It survived a fire in 1796, according to Visit Savannah. Habersham allegedly hanged himself in the basement of the home in 1799 and, according to legend, still haunts the mansion to this day.

This story was originally published December 27, 2018 at 10:40 AM.