On leave Fitchburg fire chief puts out blaze in Puerto Rico

Fitchburg Fire Chief Dante Suarez helped put out a fire in Puerto Rico.

Suarez, who has been on paid administrative leave since March pending an external investigation, was on a belated honeymoon earlier this month and having lunch in the beachside community of Luquillo when a kitchen blaze broke out in the restaurant. He quickly sprang into action, extinguishing the fire to prevent further spread along with help from restaurant staff and directing employees on what to do prior to local firefighters arriving approximately 30 minutes later.

“I heard some excitement and looked over and saw smoke,” said Suarez, who according to city payroll records earned just over $192,000 in 2025. “The fire was in the kitchen and unfortunately there was no sprinkler system in the restaurant, so once we confirmed everyone was out of the building safely, we attacked the fire using common extinguishers.”

He noted “it was a collective effort,” with employees gathering fire extinguishers from adjoining restaurants and handing them to Suarez as needed.

“It took seven or eight extinguishers, but we were able to contain the fire to the kitchen and prevent it from getting into the vent system and spreading to other buildings,” he disclosed, adding that it took “maybe 20 minutes or so to extinguish the flames and cool it to the point where there were no flareups.”

Suarez said he was glad he happened to be in the right place at the right time and was able to utilize his firefighting skills.

“I was in a position to help and at the end of the day that’s what firefighters do. I’m just grateful nobody was injured and we were able to minimize the damage.”