Fire at Historic Tavern

By Jay Sorgi

Story Created: May 26, 2009

A popular restaurant and pub in Shorewood caught fire during the early morning hours of Tuesday.

Nearly 50 firefighters from 15 different companies spent much of the overnight hours fighting a two-alarm fire at the Brit Inn, an English-themed restaurant on the 4400 block of North Oakland Avenue.

Officials say there is significant damage to the restaurant and two buildings next to it

Many of the firefighters concentrated on the roof of the structure which caught fire at around 2:30 a.m.

Fire officials say a worker was inside the restaurant. She noticed the fire and attempted to extinguish it by herself, but called 9-1-1.

Police officials arrived on the scene, followed by fire trucks.

They fought the fire, which was mainly on the back end of the restaurant and on the top level of the building, which is an office area.

The age of the building presented a problem to firefighters.

"It's an older building," said Shorewood Deputy Fire Chief Robert Whitaker.

"From a construction standpoint, it's well constructed, but because of its age, it also produces some challenges for us finding a fire that's hidden in the walls and ceilings."

Firefighters also had a problem with a water main break which happened just at the time they attempted to hook up to a second hydrant by the scene of the fire.

The fire was contained by 5:30 a.m.

A martial arts studio and a currently unused building was also affected by the fire.

There are no reports of any injuries. Investigators are looking for a cause of the fire.