Patrons Escape San Antonio Restaurant Fire

Feb. 16, 2009
A restaurant on the northeast side caught fire Saturday night but patrons escaped unharmed.

SAN ANTONIO --

A restaurant on the northeast side caught fire Saturday night but patrons escaped unharmed.

A 17-year-old who worked at the restaurant was treated for smoke inhalation but did not have to be transported to the hospital after a fire at Jim's Restaurant at Interstate 35 and O'Connor Road.

"I'm upset right now, but we got her out, and we got everybody else out," said Mark King, the teenager's uncle.

The teen was treated in the back of an ambulance as worried friends and family members waited outside.

Firefighters said that when they arrived it looked like the entire restaurant roof was on fire, but the flames were confined to the restaurant's ventilation system.

Firefighters said the fire was sparked by cooking oil. A grease fire then spread into the ventilation duct work.

The restaurant had customers inside at the time, but all of them made it out unharmed.

"I do know the staff that was on duty there working here, did an excellent job getting out, checking to make sure no one was in the restroom got everyone out safely," district chief Tommy Thompson said.

Health inspectors are checking the restaurant before it can reopen.

There has been no word yet on the amount of damage, but firefighters said they limited it to the ventilation system and a small part of the roof.

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