The Captain D’s restaurant in Arnold is expected to be closed for about a week after a fire started in its kitchen Aug. 21, Rock Community Fire Protection Fire Marshal Jeff DeLapp said today (Aug. 24).
At about noon Aug. 21, Rock Fire got a call about the fire at the restaurant, 830 Jeffco Blvd., after a gas line ruptured on one of the restaurant’s fryers, igniting the blaze. When firefighters arrived, the building had already been evacuated and no injuries were reported, DeLapp said.
He said smoke could be seen coming out of the building, mainly from the kitchen exhaust system. He said the kitchen filled with smoke, and smoke made its way into the dining room.
“They were able to get the gas shut off and extinguish it with dry-chemical extinguishers,” DeLapp said. “Water would have just spread the fire. One of the fryers was on fire. The guys did a good job and took care of it quickly.”
DeLapp said the fire was under control in about 15 minutes.
He also said the kitchen was not as heavily damaged as someone might expect after a fire.
“I would say in about a week or less they will probably be back open for business,” DeLapp said. “A lot of the smoke was in the hood. There was smoke in the building, but it really wasn’t black smoke. It was white smoke.”
DeLapp said Rock Fire personnel ventilated the building after extinguishing the fire and got the smoke out.
The Mehlville Fire Protection District and the Rock Township Ambulance District also responded to the scene, DeLapp said.