PARSIPPANY — On June 27, 2023, at 8:09 p.m., a team consisting of Parsippany Fire Districts 4, 5, and 6, EMS Car 65, Captain Dowd, Lt. Carrozzino, Sgt. Lesiak, S.O Ruggier, Ptl. Baker, and Ptl. Christopher Yi, responded to a report of an active structure fire at 1561 Route 46 East, specifically at Elmas Turkish & Mediterranean Cuisine.
The first responders quickly arrived at the scene with lights and sirens activated. Upon arrival, they observed thick black smoke and flames emanating from the restaurant’s roof.
The fire units wasted no time and immediately commenced efforts to control the blaze by opening the roof and initiating extinguishing procedures. While the firefighting operations were ongoing, officers present had a conversation with the business owner, Syed Abdulhai.
Mr. Abdulhai informed Ptl. Christopher Yi that he had recently spoken to the landlord, Joseph Minelli, after discovering a roof leak the day before. Apparently, an unidentified company had been hired to fix the leak earlier that day around 3;00 p.m. Unfortunately, the area where the flames originated coincided with the repaired spot.
In light of the circumstances, Ptl. Cavaliere was assigned to conduct an arson investigation and was already present at the scene, alongside District 5. Additionally, the Morris County Crime Scene Investigation (C.S.I.) team was dispatched to provide further assistance with the investigation. Dispatch was responsible for notifying all relevant construction and township officials, who promptly arrived to support the ongoing investigation and facilitate the cleanup process.
Ptl. Baker and Ptl.Yi remained at the scene until all units had concluded their duties and the scene was officially handed over to Ptl. Cavaliere. There is no additional information to report at this time.
There were no injuries reported.
