Montclair restaurant rewards woman who called in fire

The good samaritan who called the Montclair Fire Department in the early hours of Sunday, July 3, to report a small fire at Tinga Taqueria has been found.

Last week, owner David Fishman posted on social media and told Montclair Local he wanted help in locating the person who called in the fire to give them a reward —  free Tinga for life.

After reading about Fishman’s quest, the Montclair Fire Department was able to provide the name and contact information of the woman who reported the fire. Her name is “Patty and she's from Los Angeles,” Fishman told Montclair Local on Tuesday, not providing her last name.

The fire was started due to a faulty drink machine, Fishman believes. With Patty and the fire department’s help, the business sustained minimal damages, he said. 

Fishman and the “Tinga Hero” have been in contact this week, but he said she has not yet come in to claim her one of many free meals. 

“It’s just amazing that somebody was walking by the store Sunday morning. I mean, it's unbelievable,” Fishman said after the fire. 

Along with Tinga recognizing Patty, Fishman intends to hold a firefighter benefit to thank those service workers who saved his establishment. 

“The firemen were incredible. I mean, you kind of hear these stories of them coming in and wreaking havoc to put the fire out,” he said. 

Fortunately for Fishman and the restaurant, the firefighters were able to put out the fire quickly and efficiently with an extinguisher, which allowed the damage from the electrical mishap to be minimal. 

“There's computers and all other electronic equipment right by where this was, and everything's working fine,” he said. 

After getting clearance from the fire and health departments, Tinga Taqueria was back open on Tuesday, although it is not able to serve its signature frozen drinks due to the damage to the drink machine.