3/15/2011
About an hour before the Oak at Fourteenth restaurant was scheduled to open Wednesday morning, a sous chef saw flames shooting out of a chimney flue, according to the restaurant owner.
About 15 staff members hurried to exit the Tanner Building that houses the 3-month-old restaurant at 14th and Pearl streets, and the chef called 911.
Within minutes, every firefighter in Boulder was battling the blaze that had erupted in a "false" ceiling of the restaurant, and dozens of onlookers who had been strolling the Pearl Street Mall were lining 14th Street and watching smoke billow into the sky. The pedestrian mall was blocked off between 14th and 15th streets for several hours.
Bryan Dayton, co-owner of the Oak at Fourteenth, said he doesn't know how the fire started in his restaurant.
"I imagine there will be significant damage," he said. "It's definitely heartbreaking."
No one was hurt in the blaze.
Thirty firefighters from the Boulder Fire Department were called to work the fire, which began about 10:30 a.m., and they stayed at the scene for hours to make sure the fire was out. Donner said there was some concern that high wind gusts blowing
20110309_113747_0309fire1_300.jpg
Firefighters work on the roof of the Tanner Building in downtown Boulder as they fight a fire Wednesday morning.
through Boulder at the time -- reaching up to 35 mph, according to meteorologist Matt Kelsch -- would push the fire or re-ignite embers.
Flames spread through a void space between a vaulted ceiling in the building and its roof, Boulder Fire Chief Larry Donner said, so firefighters pulled down portions of the ceiling and cut holes in the roof to let out the smoke and gain access to the blaze.
"It's hidden from view, so it's a difficult fire to fight," Donner said.
A lot of "intensive physical labor" was involved in fighting the fire, he said, because crews were dealing with a hot, dark environment inside the restaurant. One firefighter was reported injured after falling down a ladder, but Donner said that person returned to work at the scene after paramedics determined he was not hurt.
About 1 p.m., fire department spokeswoman Kim Kobel said the blaze was contained. Fire crews finally cleared the scene about 5 p.m., she said. As of Wednesday evening, investigators had not yet determined how the fire started or how much of the building was damaged.
UPDATE:
A fire that broke out inside a restaurant on the east end of the Pearl Street Mall last week started in a grease hood in the kitchen and burned up through the building, spreading out in a "false" ceiling just underneath the building's roof, according to Boulder fire officials.
The fire's exact cause isn't known, but chefs at the Oak at Fourteenth restaurant, 1400 Pearl St., were doing some preparation cooking under the grease hood in the kitchen Wednesday when the fire erupted about 10:30 a.m. and burned up through the hood system, said Fire Marshal Dave Lowrey.
Every firefighter in Boulder responded to the blaze that sent dark smoke billowing into the sky. Quick firefighting and sprinklers that had been installed in the upper regions of the building kept the blaze from causing more damage or spreading to neighboring buildings, according to Lowrey.
Damage estimates from the fire have grown to more than $1 million. That includes direct damages such as charred walls, torn-down ceilings and ruined equipment and indirect damages such as the loss of business for shops that were closed during the fire.
About an hour before the Oak at Fourteenth restaurant was scheduled to open Wednesday morning, a sous chef saw flames shooting out of a chimney flue, according to the restaurant owner.
About 15 staff members hurried to exit the Tanner Building that houses the 3-month-old restaurant at 14th and Pearl streets, and the chef called 911.
Within minutes, every firefighter in Boulder was battling the blaze that had erupted in a "false" ceiling of the restaurant, and dozens of onlookers who had been strolling the Pearl Street Mall were lining 14th Street and watching smoke billow into the sky. The pedestrian mall was blocked off between 14th and 15th streets for several hours.
Bryan Dayton, co-owner of the Oak at Fourteenth, said he doesn't know how the fire started in his restaurant.
"I imagine there will be significant damage," he said. "It's definitely heartbreaking."
No one was hurt in the blaze.
Thirty firefighters from the Boulder Fire Department were called to work the fire, which began about 10:30 a.m., and they stayed at the scene for hours to make sure the fire was out. Donner said there was some concern that high wind gusts blowing
20110309_113747_0309fire1_300.jpg
Firefighters work on the roof of the Tanner Building in downtown Boulder as they fight a fire Wednesday morning.
through Boulder at the time -- reaching up to 35 mph, according to meteorologist Matt Kelsch -- would push the fire or re-ignite embers.
Flames spread through a void space between a vaulted ceiling in the building and its roof, Boulder Fire Chief Larry Donner said, so firefighters pulled down portions of the ceiling and cut holes in the roof to let out the smoke and gain access to the blaze.
"It's hidden from view, so it's a difficult fire to fight," Donner said.
A lot of "intensive physical labor" was involved in fighting the fire, he said, because crews were dealing with a hot, dark environment inside the restaurant. One firefighter was reported injured after falling down a ladder, but Donner said that person returned to work at the scene after paramedics determined he was not hurt.
About 1 p.m., fire department spokeswoman Kim Kobel said the blaze was contained. Fire crews finally cleared the scene about 5 p.m., she said. As of Wednesday evening, investigators had not yet determined how the fire started or how much of the building was damaged.
UPDATE:
A fire that broke out inside a restaurant on the east end of the Pearl Street Mall last week started in a grease hood in the kitchen and burned up through the building, spreading out in a "false" ceiling just underneath the building's roof, according to Boulder fire officials.
The fire's exact cause isn't known, but chefs at the Oak at Fourteenth restaurant, 1400 Pearl St., were doing some preparation cooking under the grease hood in the kitchen Wednesday when the fire erupted about 10:30 a.m. and burned up through the hood system, said Fire Marshal Dave Lowrey.
Every firefighter in Boulder responded to the blaze that sent dark smoke billowing into the sky. Quick firefighting and sprinklers that had been installed in the upper regions of the building kept the blaze from causing more damage or spreading to neighboring buildings, according to Lowrey.
Damage estimates from the fire have grown to more than $1 million. That includes direct damages such as charred walls, torn-down ceilings and ruined equipment and indirect damages such as the loss of business for shops that were closed during the fire.
