The Culver’s restaurant, 400 Meramec Blvd, in Eureka remained closed this week due to a fire last month, according to the company’s website.
Eureka Police reported an employee attempted to put out the fire at about 6:45 a.m. Aug. 31 when he arrived at work and saw smoke in the building. The employee told officers the fire was in the west side of the building, and he attempted to put the fire out with a fire extinguisher.
The employee said he believed he had put out the fire, and he then exited the building before calling 911.
Firefighters from the Eureka, High Ridge Pacific and Metro West fire protection districts responded to the call, and they discovered the blaze was still ongoing. The firefighters extinguished the fire, the report said.
A wall inside the women’s bathroom had to be removed, and several ceiling tiles were damaged by fire. There also was significant water damage throughout the restaurant, according to the report.
Eureka Police reported surveillance video showed that at about 11 p.m. Aug. 30 what appeared to be hot crumbs from a fryer were placed in a trash can. The video shows smoke starting to come from the trash can at about 11:35 p.m. and continue to billow out until about 3:15 a.m. Aug. 31 when the fire appears to start in the trash can.
A phone call to the restaurant was not answered on Tuesday.