Cigarette induced large hearth that destroyed NW Houston restaurant, HFD says

HOUSTON — A person blamed for a hearth that burned down a northwest Houston restaurant final month has been arrested and charged, in accordance with the Houston Hearth Division.

Christian Dumser, 42, is charged with legal mischief better than $300,000 and reckless arson in reference to the Might 24 hearth on the Northwest Freeway close to thirty fourth Road, HFD stated.

Surveillance cameras helped arson investigators establish Dumser, who was arrested on Tuesday. He was due in court docket at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

Courtroom paperwork reveal what the surveillance cameras present within the hours main as much as the hearth.

• HFD stated cameras present Dumser “carelessly discarding a lit cigarette” into dried or lifeless bushes exterior Captain Benny’s hours at 1:13 a.m.
• Cameras then present Dumser enter a close-by workplace constructing a couple of minutes later with out the cigarette. In accordance with HFD, he then returned to the restaurant and appeared to look at a TV by means of the window as smoke appeared from below the adjoining wood accessibility ramp on the west facet.
• Greater than two hours after discarding the cigarette, Dumser is seen rising from the eastside accessibility ramp and lighting one other cigarette as he watched flames engulf the restaurant. 
• He then went again contained in the workplace constructing earlier than strolling towards Freeway 290 as the hearth continued to burn, HFD stated.
• The primary 911 name got here in about 10 minutes later.

“Whereas the hearth is unintentional in nature, surveillance video exhibits the person acknowledging the hearth and leaving the scene, failing to extinguish it because it smoldered earlier than spreading to the enterprise,” HFD stated. “One thing so simple as a discarded cigarette is an actual hazard, and on this case, induced hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in injury to a Houston enterprise proprietor.”

The restaurant was a complete loss with injury estimates of a minimum of $1.5 million.

Happily, nobody was harm.

On Friday, June 20, the restaurant posted an replace about reopening.

In accordance with a publish on Captain Benny’s Fb web page, demolition of the charred construction will begin subsequent week they usually might reopen earlier than the tip of the 12 months.

“We hope to be open and serving the group and our long-time patrons inside the subsequent 6 to eight months,” the publish reads partly.