Firefighters responded to the China Wok restaurant at 310 E. Fifth St. about 4:47 p.m., Tuesday, on a report of flames coming from the roof. Marysville Fire Chief Jay Riley said the fire, which was largely isolated to that business, was contained quickly. The business will reportedly be closed while repairs are made. (Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson)
A local restaurant is closed for repairs after a fire Tuesday.
About 4:47 p.m. Tuesday, the Marysville Division of Fire was called to China Wok, 310 E. Fifth Street, on a report of smoke coming from the business.
“On arrival, our units saw flames coming out of the roof,” said Marysville Fire Chief Jay Riley.
He said firefighters were able to get into the building and found most of the flames were coming from the kitchen’s exhaust system.
Riley said the fire was contained in about 10 minutes.
“It was fortunate we were able to get it under control quickly and it wasn’t able to expand past China Wok,” Riley said.
He said there were no injuries as a result of the fire.
Jerome and Allen township fire departments also assisted in extinguishing the fire. Riley said traffic control from the Marysville Division of Police allowed the fire department to work.
“They were able to maintain traffic because there is so much traffic on that road,” Riley said, though he did say the street was reduced to one lane for a period of time.
The entire shopping center is owned by East 5th Street LLC.
The fire chief said the damage was almost entirely contained to the China Wok and specifically the kitchen.
“They are out of business now, until they can get their kitchen restored, but it shouldn’t take them long,” Riley said.
He added that East of Chicago Pizza, next to China Wok in the strip mall, “had a little bit of smoke, but I think they are still able to operate.”
Riley said it appears employees at the China Wok restaurant were cooking and grease in the stove’s hood exhaust caught fire.
“Businesses that have good systems need to clean and maintain them and they need to be inspected yearly,” Riley reminded business owners.
The fire chief said the yearly inspection of business buildings in the city has reduced the threat of fire. He said it has been years since there was a significant fire in the Uptown.
“We have been pretty fortunate,” Riley said. “I’d like to think we are doing a good job with our fire prevention and our annual inspection program to make sure the buildings are safe.”
He said the city attempts to inspect every business each year, noting that city inspectors, “are doing a fantastic job.”
Riley also credited many of the building and business owners for renovating their facilities.
“We love to see the remodeling and upgrading of the Uptown buildings,” Riley said. “When they do that, they bring it up to current code and make it safer for everybody.”