By Connie Leinbach
The Jolly Roger will be closed for the next few days owing to a small electrical fire in the kitchen in the early hours this morning (July 6).
Dewey Dunn, the island liaison for ABC Family of Greenville, who owns the Jolly and the Silver Lake Inn, said an electrical problem in a corner of the kitchen caused the sprinkler system to go off at around 2 a.m. The system automatically called 911 to which volunteers with Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department responded.
The Hyde County Fire Marshal Johnny Gibbs is on his way to investigate today, Dunn said.
“Was it a screw through the wire, or was it something shorted out? We don’t know,” Dunn said, “but damage is very minimal. This sprinkler system came on just like it was supposed to.”
Dunn said the sprinkler system is targeted, so only the affected area in the kitchen got watered. The rest of the restaurant is undamaged and is expected to be open by the weekend.
The Jolly Roger Pub & Marina reopened June 5 after having been built over the winter, six years, following devastating flooding from Hurricane Dorian in September 2019.
