Smoke filled Ken & Sue’s Restaurant and an adjacent business, Shirt Off My Back, from a fire that started from a stove top in the restaurant’s upstairs kitchen Thursday morning, said Fire Marshal Karola Hanks of the Durango Fire & Rescue Authority.
Flames were extinguished quickly, but the damage apparently will keep Ken & Sue’s closed for a few days, while Shirt Off My Back plans to reopen soon.
Volunteer Fire Capt. Dave Tranum, who works in an office downtown, and Deputy Fire Marshal Dave Strobel, who happened to be downtown for an inspection, used kitchen fire extinguishers to put out the flames soon after the fire was reported at 9:50 a.m., Hanks said.
The fire apparently started while chefs were getting ready for the restaurant’s 11 a.m. opening, Hanks said.
“The fire started on top of the stove top,” Hanks said. “(The cooks) tried to get it out, but couldn’t get it all the way out. Then they lost it.”
Firefighters used a ladder truck to climb to the top of the restaurant at 636 Main Ave. to make sure the fire had not spread.
Firefighters wanted to make sure it was well contained because buildings on the block are more than 100 years old.
“They’re older buildings (with many holes in between),” Hanks said. “The true danger is that we don’t have true fire walls (between the buildings).”
Main Avenue was closed from College Drive to Seventh Street between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. to provide a staging area for two fire engines, two ladder trucks, 39 firefighters, two medic units and officers from Durango Police Department and La Plata County Sheriff’s Office.
There were no injuries to firefighters or the public.
Because of the fire, Hanks anticipated the restaurant will have to replace equipment in the kitchen.
“There’s some significant damage in the kitchen area,” she said. “The rest of the building has smoke.”
Owners of Ken & Sue’s did not comment, but Hanks was hopeful the restaurant could reopen early next week.
Geoff Miller, a part-owner of Shirt Off My Back, was not sure when his store would open but said it would be soon.
jhaug@durangoerherald.com
