COVINGTON, Ga. — After exposed, suspended HVAC ductwork fell inside Mystic Grill on Monday and injured multiple people, restaurant owner Angie Bezborn said work was being done to ensure an incident like that would never happen again.

Covington Fire Chief Jeremy Holmes said a team of first responders were called to the restaurant Monday night for a "possible roof collapse with multiple people trapped." But when they arrived, Holmes said the ductwork had fallen, but no collapse of the roof or ceiling had been found.

Holmes confirmed there were a total of four people treated for injuries — three minor and one he described as "serious." He said National EMS arrived and helped firefighters to stabilize and remove the serious patient from the scene and immediately transport the serious patient to the hospital. All other patients stated they did not want to be transported to the hospital, Holmes said.

In part of a statement posted to the restaurant's Facebook page Tuesday afternoon, Bezborn wrote, “We are saddened by the incident at Mystic Grill last evening and hope everyone affected is doing well.” 

Bezborn told The News on Wednesday afternoon that the Covington Fire Department, as well as a third-party building inspector, each inspected the building and cleared the establishment to reopen.

She said inspectors had actually cleared her to keep one side of the restaurant open, including the bar, immediately after the incident on Monday. But she chose not to.

“I had everyone leave,” Bezborn said. “Safety comes first, and I wanted to figure out exactly what was going on and how this happened.”

Bezborn said a cable holding a piece of large, metal ductwork in place — exposed and suspended from the ceiling — had snapped. She said the HVAC company that installed the equipment was investigating why and how it happened. There was no condensation or signs of leaks, she said. 

Before opening Tuesday, Bezborn said, a third-party inspector said everything was up to standard and cleared to reopen. She said the inspector and HVAC company were “just as surprised as we were” that the ductwork collapsed.

“Nothing is wrong with the building,” she said. “[The inspector] assured us that the building was structurally sound. There’s nothing wrong with the integrity of the building.”

Moving forward, Bezborn said ductwork throughout the restaurant would be replaced with “duct socks,” which is made with a lightweight, fabric material.

“We don’t want this to ever happen again,” Bezborn said.

Mystic Grill is an iconic restaurant located at the Covington Square known for being featured on the hit TV series “Vampire Diaries.”