By JOAN D. LaGUARDIA
jlaguardia@news-press.com
Fire marshals will converge today at the
remains of Romano's Macaroni Grill on U.S. 41 south of
Daniels Parkway to determine why the popular restaurant burned to
rubble early Monday morning.
Before the cause of the fire can be determined, cranes must lift four
car-sized air blowers and other smaller air units from the ash.
The equipment crashed through the blazing roof about 3:45 a.m., moments
after firefighters fled the building at the orders of their safety
officer.
The blaze put 75 people out of work and shut down one
of the top-producing restaurants owned by Dallas-based Brinker
International. No specific dollar value was placed on the damage.
"It's
definitely a multimillion dollar loss, including the loss of business,"
said Craig Brotheim, fire marshal for South Trail Fire Protection and
Rescue. South Trail got the fire call at about 3:10 a.m. Monday.
"It was probably not under control totally until the sun came up," said
Bill Lombardo, the South Trail safety officer on the scene. One
South Trail firefighter was treated and released for heat exhaustion at
Gulf Coast Hospital. There were no other injuries. The restaurant was
closed when the fire erupted. Brinker officials have not yet decided if
or when the 11-year-old restaurant, which was recently remodeled, would
be rebuilt.
"It's a location that performed very well for us," Adams
said.
Brinker owns the lot at 13721 S. Tamiami Trail, Fort Myers, where it
offered customers pasta and wine selections to the accompaniment of
strolling singers. All four stations in the South Trail fire
district reported to the scene, including three engine trucks, a ladder
truck and rescue unit. Iona and San Carlos departments were also on the
scene. Fort Myers and Lehigh units were on standby.
"It was
frightening," said Christie Knudsen, spokeswoman for South Trail. "This
is the biggest structure fire we've had this year." When
firefighters arrived, the southern portion of the building was engulfed
in flames. The kitchen was on that side of the building. Immediately he
noticed a chimney leaning and became concerned about the big air units
on the red tile roof.
"They're huge. In certain circles, we call them
firefighter killers," he said.
"Conditions started getting a lot worse quickly when it started burning
through the roof," Lombardo said. "We started seeing heavy, heavy smoke
and flames coming through the roof. "Three different engine
companies were there inside the building. We pulled our firefighters
out before the roof caved in," he said. "Within 10 minutes of when we
were on the scene, we were calling people out.
"It was a large fire,
one of our bigger ones. You always hate to see a landmark burn,"
Lombardo said. No surrounding structures were damaged. The restaurant
housed flammable items, including liquid propane and natural gas used
in the kitchen as well as bottles of wine.
Monday afternoon, TECO Gas Services was called to shut off the natural
gas hook-up and firefighters burned off the last of the fuel in a
400-pound LP gas tank to make the rubble safe for fire investigators.
The state fire marshal's forensic investigation team will join Brotheim
in the investigation. Agents throughout the state staff the team.
Monday, Brotheim and firefighters worked to make the rubble and ash
safe for investigators. "The building is definitely too unstable to
just jump right in," Brotheim said. "It's going to be an extensively
long investigation," Lombardo noted.
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