Fire heavily damaged a Denny’s restaurant in Eureka Monday evening (Nov. 7).
The fire moved fast, and Eureka Fire Protection District called in seven other agencies to help fight the blaze.
Customers and staff were evacuated, and no one was injured, said Eureka Fire public information officer Scott Barthelmass.
At 5:10 p.m., Eureka Fire received a call about an appliance fire at the restaurant at 1717 West Fifth St. and arrived there “momentarily,” Barthelmass said.
“We are only half a block from there,” he said.
In those moments, however, the fire, which began in a fryer, quickly engulfed the kitchen, Barthelmass said.
Fortunately, the customers and staff were quickly evacuated from the restaurant and were outside by the time firefighters arrived.
The fire continued to grow and Eureka Fire struck a second alarm at 5:45 p.m., Barthelmass said.
He said it was difficult to fight the fire because it had spread through the ceiling and into the ventilation system.
“Once it gets into the ventilation system, the ceilings and the walls, it’s like you’re always chasing the fire (because it moves so quickly),” he said. “This was a significant fire that caused heavy damage to the building.”
Firefighters from the Pacific, Metro West, Monarch, Valley Park, Fenton, High Ridge and Boles districts helped with the call.
At one point, there were 19 district vehicles at the scene, Barthelmass said.
The fire was determined to be under control at about 7:30 p.m. and firefighters were back in service by 8:30 p.m., he said.
Everyone worked as a team, Barthelmass said.
“This was a good collaboration among agencies to put out a difficult fire,” he said.