Fire closes popular Abilene restaurant
(This story was updated to accurately reflect the most current information.)
The Abilene Fire Department quenched the flames at a popular Abilene restaurant on Saturday, but Szechuan Chinese Restaurant will be closed until further notice.
Firefighters were battling the blaze at the restaurant in the 3400 block of South First Street, using equipment to spray water on the roof of the structure around 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
Bailey Woods, an assistant manager at the restaurant, said the fire originated in the kitchen.
“Basically, they were prepping for the day,” she said. “They had a wok with oil in it, it caught fire and the vent sucked it up into the vent system.”
Abilene firefighters spray water onto the roof of Szechuan Chinese Restaurant Saturday Jan. 18, 2025. Witnesses said the small blaze in the stove’s vent system originated after a wok caught fire. No injuries were reported.
Several kitchen staff members immediately put the fire in the pan out using corn starch, but the fire in the stove area’s overhead ventilation system was still burning.
Woods said that a technician had been scheduled to service the vent system within the coming days.
“Everybody evacuated the building, nobody was harmed and the fire department got here quickly,” she said.
Firefighters, using a ladder truck, sprayed water onto the box-like structure atop the roof where Bailey said the vent system was housed. Others climbed the slick metal roof on ladders to break the structure apart using axes.
“One of the other managers has the (security) cameras on her phone, and she said that the fire was contained to the kitchen,” Woods said. “The rest of the restaurant is just wet from the sprinkler system, but the fire stayed in the spot where it initially started.”
The longtime restaurant offers authentic Chinese flavors, according to its website.
“We are disheartened to share some unfortunate news,” said a Facebook update posted just after noon Saturday on the restaurant’s page. “We will be closed until further notice. . . . We appreciate your thoughts and prayers and eagerly await the opportunity to reopen our doors.”
Check back with www.reporternews.com for more on this developing story.
(This story was updated to add a video.)
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This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Fire closes popular Abilene restaurant
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