MIAMI --
Fire officials said the power at a landmark Virginia Key restaurant will be shut off, closing down business, amid safety concerns about electrical wires on the property after a fire broke out Sunday.
The fire happened at a trailer next to Jimbo's restaurant. The blaze destroyed that home where Jimbo’s son, Bubba Luznar, lives on the property. Because there were some customers at the bar, authorities were concerned about possible injuries. But in the end, the fire did not touch any of the restaurant and no one was hurt.
The fire does spark new questions about the safety of the sprawling establishment. It is a series of makeshift canopies and awnings connected with plywood flooring and extension cords that has grown over the years into a possible safety hazard, authorities said.
Fire officials said a faulty extension cord likely sparked Sunday's fire.
"We understand that the person who stays in this trailer just plugged up a two-gallon water heater to have a female companion take a shower, and then before you know it, they start smelling smoke and they see a fire. He tried to put it out but was unsuccessful," Lt. Ignatius Carroll of Miami Fire Rescue said. "People who have been out here to Jimbo's can tell that this is something like a makeshift type of city that they've put together here using anything that they can find, and this could've been potentially worse. But luckily, the restaurant was saved."
Seventeen units, including two fireboats, responded to the call for help.
After an inspection Monday morning, fire officials said power would be shut off to the restaurant, meaning business would be shut down.
"Another fire could prove to be deadly, so what we are going to do now is make this safe for everybody that is staying here," Carroll said.
Fire marshals who inspected the restaurant said it is not safe for customers.
"Extension cords are just coming out. It's like spaghetti all over the floor and across the buildings, and you can see some of the buildings here are not very structurally stable," Carroll said.
Jimbo's customer Gabriel Villar said he is not happy with the city's decision and does not want the restaurant closed.
"There are fires all over town and it's not a typical reaction to shut the power to the building. There has been an effort for years now to try and shut them down," Villar said.
Fire officials said they would turn the power back on at Jimbo's if and when the owners fix its electrical issue by removing all the extension cords and power outlets that are causing concern. Officials said they want to make sure the restaurant is safe especially because it is in a public park.
Jimbo's has been on Virginia Key since the 1950s.
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