An extensive electrical fire at the Paget Ice Queen has put the entire Rural Hill Plaza out of commission.

The blaze is believed to have been started by an electrical panel in the storage room at rear of the restaurant's public service area, according to Lt. Dana Lovell of the Bermuda Fire Service.

“It was reported at 1.59 a.m. and the first fire unit arrived there within three minutes,” Lt. Lovell said.

“We had the fire under control within ten minutes.” he added.

Despite the quick arrival of fire crews the storage room, which houses the restaurant's electric meters and wiring, suffered extensive heat and smoke damage to the storage room's which serve the entire building. There was also extensive damage to the public area while neighbouring businesses in the plaza were also affected.

“The front of the building is an absolute mess from the smoke” Lt. Lovell said, adding that the flames were contained in the storage room. Estimating the damage at about $30,000, mostly from the costs of rewiring the building, Lt. Lovell said “You'll be able to clean up the smoke staining on the (restaurant's) white tiles, but its going to take someone a lot of work.”

He added that the restaurant will probably closed for at least two days while the clean-up is carried out.

Hamilton Ice Queen manager Mike Johnson said: “This is the worst type of fire you can have, putting the entire building out of commission.”

A Phoenix store representative was unavailable at news time to report on the condition of the Phoenix's Paget Pharmacy, which is also in the Plaza.