An August blaze in 2022 heavily damaged Heenan’s Pub and apartments connected to the building at Main and Eagle streets. P-J file photo

FREDONIA — The owner of Heenan’s Pub on Main Street in Fredonia has sued the village over an August 2022 fire.

The fire was started by a blowtorch, wielded by a village Department of Public Works employee killing weeds on the nearby sidewalk of Eagle Street. The resulting blaze did significant damage — in fact, the bar, which has apartments upstairs, only reopened this September.

Now, Shaun Heenan has sued Fredonia over the fire, filing an action in state Supreme Court Friday.

He is seeking construction costs of restoring the building to its pre-fire condition. Heenan also wants compensation for rent payments, income from the pub, and personal property lost due to fire.

Heenan’s suit alleges Fredonia “breached its duty to perform the (weed removal) work in a safe and responsible matter.” The village “had a duty to either use a different method of removing the weeds or take due care in operating the blowtorch in a manner that would not cause a fire to the adjoining structure, namely 39 East Main Street.”

The lawsuit accuses the village of “negligence” in the matter, which allowed Heenan’s Pub to become engulfed in fire, leading to substantial loss of income for the bar and its owner.