Kan. BBQ Joint Goes Up in Smoke

A popular Independence barbecue restaurant was destroyed by an early morning fire Monday.

Officials told television station KCTV that the fire started in the kitchen of Gates Bar-B-Q around 1 a.m.

Firefighters were affected by the cold weather and water pressure as they tried to contain the fire.

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"We had several problems tonight with water pressure," Independence Battalion Chief Mike Ditamor said. "We had to actually go a block north and breach a fence to establish a second hydrant, so we could get enough supply to get a handle on it."

A cook who was at the restaurant to to do cleaning escaped unharmed.

"It was a duct fire," owner George Gates said. "It got hot and it started burning the roof and the rest is history."