A hood system designed to suppress stove-top fires may have malfunctioned earlier this month during a kitchen fire at Ken & Sue’s Restaurant in Durango, a fire marshal said Thursday.
The fire-suppression system in the hood should have activated once the stove caught fire, said Karola Hanks, fire marshal with Durango Fire & Rescue Authority.
Flames advanced into the hood, up the ductwork and into an exhaust fan that leads to the roof, she said. The flue system was replaced and wrapped in fire-resistant material in 2011, which contained the fire and prevented it from spreading into the voids of the roof and nearby stores, Hanks said.
The fire started about 9:50 a.m. Aug. 8, while cooks did prep work.
“It looks like there was grease or fat on the stove from the previous evening that caught fire,” Hanks said.
The kitchen staff tried unsuccessfully to extinguish the blaze.
The restaurant, which has been closed since the fire, is expected to reopen in about two weeks once a new hood system can be installed, according to a news release issued Wednesday by the restaurant.
Efforts to reach owners Ken and Sue Fusco for further comment were unsuccessful.
“They’re getting to a point where they’re about to start putting things back together,” Hanks said.
The hood system recently was inspected and passed inspection, Hanks said.
Insurance companies have removed the suppression system and related components and will further analyze them in Denver, Hanks said.
The restaurant’s insurance company is expected to cover lost revenue and the entire staff’s losses, according to the news release.
“We are working hard to reopen as quick as possible and look forward to seeing our guests in September,” Sue Fusco said in the release.
Ken & Sue’s at 636 Main Ave. first opened in April 1998 in a different location on Main Avenue.
It was announced this month that Ken & Sue’s won The Durango Herald’s Readers Choice Award for best restaurant, best servers and best upscale restaurant.
shane@durangoherald.com
