Red Bluff Fire Department has determined what caused a fire that destroyed a fast food restaurant on New Years Day. Red Bluff Fire Department, Cal-Fire and other supporting agencies were dispatched a little before 11 O’clock that night to the Wendy’s on South Main Street. There were employees inside when the fire started and they were able to escape without injury. The fire started on the roof and spread to the interior, with flames eventually engulfing the entire building. The restaurant was a total loss. One of the employees had turned on the heating and air conditioning system shortly before noticing the fire, but there were no alarms and the building’s fire sprinkler system did not activate. Red Bluff Fire Chief Michael Bachmeyer told the Corning Observer that the reason the sprinkler system didn’t work is that it’s designed to activate after detecting fire from below, not from above. The franchise owner does plan to rebuild.