Lake George, NY
The sight of the brittle, blackened body of the once shiny, silver-bullet shaped Prospect Mountain Diner brought tears to Marilyn Matriccino's eyes Friday afternoon as she watched firefighters smother the remaining embers of the blaze that burned the eatery to the ground hours earlier.

For Matriccino, who has been a loyal customer of the Route 9 diner for several years, it was a very personal loss.

"It's always been the people who own it and work there that make the diner -- they're like family," she said somberly. "This has got to be a loss for them, they were just regular people -- coming here was always like coming home."

It took Lake George Fire Department Chief Bruce Kilburn and his department, with assistance from North Queensbury and Warrensburg firefighters, two hours to get the fire under control early Friday.

The only things left relatively untouched by the flames were the shrubs at the diner's front door and the red cinder blocks at the building's base.

Warren County Fire Coordinator Marvin Lemery agreed that the fire was a challenge to put out.

A neighbor awoke to spot the fire about 3 a.m., and when firefighters arrived, a quarter of the building had burned and collapsed already, Lemery said.

"It had quite a head start," he added. "It was tough to put out, with all the years of use, grease and oil in that building."

The damage the fire did to the diner has also made it hard for investigators to determine a cause.

Lemery said Friday afternoon that it was unclear what started the blaze, though the fire did not appear suspicious.

According to Lemery, the blaze seems to have started inside the westernmost corner of the Rickshaw Restaurant, which was attached to the diner building and closed just before 9 p.m. Thursday night. The diner was already closed at the time.

The fire appears to have started in the storage area of the Rickshaw, which had electrical connections and also compressors for coolers, Lemery said.

"I think it's going to be a pretty lengthy investigation because of the severity of the damage," he added.

To determine what started the fire, the Warren County Fire Cause and Origin team is receiving assistance from an investigator with the state Office of Fire Protection and Control, and an investigator from the Warren County Sheriff's Office.

Lemery said the involvement of a police agency does not mean there is any suspicion of foul play.

"It's just to lend an extra set of eyes," he explained.

Even without knowing exactly what caused the diner to go up in flames, Kilburn still knew the destruction of the diner would mean more than just the death of a good restaurant.

"This is a bad loss for the village and town -- you can't find another of these diners from here to the Canadian border," Kilburn said, wiping the sweat from his brow and frowning at the wreckage.

Mark Fragassi, a Lake George native and current resident of Park City, Utah, who was in town for a visit, agreed.

"We're close friends with Pat and Art," he said of diner owner Art Leonhard and his companion Pat Humphrey. "That's why I'm standing here -- they've always been there for me, so I want to be there for them."

Fragassi paused, glancing at the firefighters as they worked the kink out of a water hose.

"This is the breakfast spot," he said, smiling at the thought. "I just remember being there as a four-year-old kid and always getting a good breakfast."

Robert Blais, mayor of the Village of Lake George, has equally fond memories of Prospect Mountain Diner and Art Leonhard.

When Leonhard purchased the diner in 1968 from the original owner, Phil Patenaude, Blais helped Leonhard secure the location beside Lake George Bowl that it occupies today.

The diner, originally called Point Diner, was located on the corner of Routes 9 and 9L then, where Water Slide World is now, Blais recalled. When Leonhard bought it, he was searching for a new home for the business.

Blais, who owned the bowling alley at that time, helped him find that new location.

"Mr. Leonhard was a friend of mine, and I offered him the land out front of the alley," Blais said.

Blais sold the alley in the mid-1980s, but the Prospect Mountain Diner has always had a lease for the land beside it.

The reason for this, in the mayor's opinion, is that everyone loves the old place.

"Thousands of people look forward to going there when they visit Lake George," Blais said of the 57-year-old diner. "It's a great loss to the community -- it was a wonderful place."

Leonhard sat with his hand on his cane in his red truck Friday afternoon, silently watching a big, yellow backhoe loudly snap and rend the remains of something special. He would not discuss the fire with a reporter.

Originally published online here: http://www.poststar.com/articles/2007/05/11/news/latest/doc4644d44959ead709212735.txt