The Union Chesapeake Seafood House at 20th Street and Philadelphia Avenue caught fire on Saturday and the Fire Marshal’s office said a faulty electrical wire may have been the cause. The three-story building is the former home to Phillips Crab House.

The Union Chesapeake Seafood House at 20th Street and Philadelphia Avenue caught fire on Saturday and the Fire Marshal’s office said a faulty electrical wire may have been the cause. The three-story building is the former home to Phillips Crab House.

Ocean City Fire Department crews rushed to the old Phillips Crab House building – which is now home to Union Chesapeake Seafood House – on Saturday afternoon to find flames and smoke contained to one area of the structure.

Reports of the fire came in at 4:54 p.m. and when firefighters arrived, they saw smoke and fire on the roof of the three-story structure at the corner of 20th Street and Philadelphia Avenue.

Fire crew members climbed to the roof of the restaurant to extinguish the fire. The process, according to a press release from the fire department, included using chainsaws to cut a portion of the roof to stop the spread of the fire to other areas of the building.

“As a result, fire damage was contained to the area of origin,” the statement read.

According to a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page, the fire department informed the owners of the fire on the third floor above the offices.

The front of the house management evacuated the building right away and kitchen management went to the fire and extinguished it with a fire extinguisher, minutes after the call.

Investigators with the Fire Marshal’s Office ruled the fire accidental, attributing it to an isolated electrical issue on the roof.

“We believe the fire was caused by a faulty wire feeding our signage,” the Facebook post from the restaurant read. “There is no damage to the interior of the building and very minimal damage to the exterior wall.”

Restaurant personnel thanked those customers who were understanding of the situation and those who hung around in the rain to be able to give their servers tips.

“Those stories were what we were talking about as we cleaned up at the end of the night,” the post read.

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Partly cloudy. High around 80F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.

Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low 66F. Winds light and variable.

Partly cloudy skies. High around 80F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.

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