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Small fire at airport restaurant prompts brief evacuation at RDU

Terminal 1 at Raleigh-Durham International Airport was briefly evacuated early Saturday after a small fire broke out at a concourse restaurant, sending passengers and visitors outside during what could be one of busiest travel days of the year at the airport.

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By
Alfred Charles
, Online Managing Editor
WAKE COUNTY, N.C. — Terminal 1 at Raleigh-Durham International Airport was briefly evacuated early Saturday after a small fire broke out at a concourse restaurant, sending passengers and visitors outside during what could be one of airport's busiest travel day of the year.

An airport spokesman said the fire ws reported shortly after 5 a.m. in the kitchen at the Char-Grill restaurant. Damage from the blaze was limited to the restaurant's kitchen area but authorities decided to evacuate the building as a precaution.

"For the safety of our employees and guests, the terminal was evacuated.," said Andrew Sawyer, the airport's spokesman.

The building reopened at 5:30 a.m. and passenger security screenings resumed at 6:15 a.m., Sawyer said.

Passengers and employees had to be re-screened before the terminal's operations could resume, Sawyer said, adding that no flight cancellations have been reported at the airport so far. However, he said some flights were delayed.

Passengers traveling out of RDU were advised to check with their carrier to determine if their flights were on-time.

Sawyer said no injuries were reported.

"We are thankful for first response crews, who did a fantastic job of responding quickly and extinguishing the fire," Sawyer said.

No injuries were reported.

Authorities did not immediately disclosed what caused the fire.

The airport was expected to see higher-than-normal passenger traffic because of people traveling for the July 4th holiday, which falls on a Wednesday.

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