THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 4, 1995 TAG: 9506040033
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 36 lines
A day after it was shut down by fire - and its owner was put in the hospital with serious burns - My Dad's Italian Sausage was open for business Saturday at Harborfest.
And except for an employee who had a large bandage on his arm, there was little hint of the fire that began Friday when a propane tank flared up.
The fire injured four employees, melted the tent and destroyed equipment.
Overnight, however, about 25 Harborfest volunteers and a crew of fellow vendors assisted My Dad's employees in putting it all back together. They raised a new tent, hooked up a new grill and got everything else in place to reopen Saturday morning.
``It's a great group of people we've got here,'' Doug Perkins, 44, a My Dad's employee, said. ``All the vendors always help each other out. It's a tight-knit, little family.''
Almost everyone working Saturday was in the tent when the fire broke out Friday, just 20 minutes before the noon start of Harborfest.
On Saturday, owner Frank Lipoli, 44, remained hospitalized in serious but stable condition in the Burn Trauma Center at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. He suffered second-degree burns to 20 percent of his body - his legs, arms, face and neck.
Perkins said the mood was good Saturday.
``I'm doing real well, but I'm staying away from the heat of the grill,'' said Perkins, whose arm was burned and had to be heavily bandaged. ``I'm supervising,'' he said with a smile. by CNB