burning the grill, stove, ventilation system

When Rick Daffron was notified late Saturday night of a fire at Rick and Carolyn's Burger & Fries on Ambler Avenue, he rushed right over and found black smoke billowing from the side of the restaurant.

The fire started about 10:15 p.m. after his employees had locked up for the night around 9:20 p.m.

"We are not sure what the cause of the fire is," said Daffron, who has owned the restaurant at 549 Ambler Ave. since 1995. "It may be electrical."

Daffron said an automatic sprinkler system inside the restaurant and quick response from the Abilene Fire Department helped put out the flames, but not before burning the grill, stove, ventilation system and a freezer. Plus, the fire started burning inside the wall behind the grill, so firefighters had to knock the wall out to douse the fire.

The Ambler Avenue location will be closed for repair for about six weeks. Daffron estimates damage at about $75,000.

"We have got a crew waiting to rebuild everything," he said. "We are just waiting on the insurance adjuster."

Manager Gary Thomas was assessing the damage in the soot-filled kitchen Tuesday.

"It is heartbreaking," Thomas said.

This is the second fire at the Ambler Avenue location, where about 500 burgers and fresh-cut fries are sold every day. Loyal customers can get their burger and fries fix at the other two locations — 4458 Buffalo Gap Road and 302 South Pioneer Drive — until the fire damage is repaired.

The first Rick and Carolyn's opened 19 years ago at the Buffalo Gap Road location.

"I can already tell some customers are going to the other stores because we have been very busy since Saturday," Daffron said.