Fires, Gas Leak Dominate Day for First Responders

February 28, 2026 by Staff Report

Chardon-area first responders had a busy day Feb. 27, beginning with a gas leak at Giant Eagle and ending with a fire at Maple City Taps.

The Giant Eagle, at 351 Center St., was closed at 9:20 a.m. because of a gas leak outside the building, Chardon police said in a social media post during the incident, noting the parking lot would not be accessible until the leak was resolved. 

Police later updated the post at 10:25 a.m. to say the leak was rectified and the store would be reopening soon. 

About 11 hours later, at 8:22 p.m., the Chardon Fire Department was dispatched to Maple City Taps, at 11095 Chardon Road in Chardon Township, for a structure fire, Assistant Chief Larry Gaspar said in a Feb. 28 press release. 

“On arrival, fire crews found heavy smoke coming from the rear of the building from both the outside wall and kitchen vent,” he said. “The fire originated in the kitchen and worked its way into the rear wall.” 

With assistance from Munson, Kirtland and Concord fire departments, crews opened the roof above the kitchen and the rear wall outside the kitchen, containing the fire in about 15 minutes, he said. 

“Due to the age of the building, firefighters found two roofs above the kitchen that they had to work through and multiple layers of siding on the outside wall. This work took an hour and a half to make sure there were no remaining hot spots,” he said, adding there were no injuries. 

This was the third structure fire Chardon Fire Department responded to that evening, Gaspar noted, with crews providing mutual aid to a residential fire in Hambden Township and an open burn behind a house in Claridon Township. 

“This is the second Chardon restaurant fire that the department has handled since October,” he said, referencing the fire at the Chardon Tavern, which caught fire in October.

The cause of the Maple City Taps fire is under investigation by the Geauga County Fire Investigation Unit, Gaspar said.