Practice News Story – Fire

A restaurant was badly damaged yesterday after a grease fire got out of control and consumed the entire building.

The restaurant, Pedro’s Mexican Restaurant, was on the corner of Washington and 21st. The owner of the building, Rachel Calhoun, has owned the building for 10 years. “It’s going to be awhile to work this out,” Calhoun said. Calhoun had no comment as to the cause of the fire or what her plans were for the future.

The manager of the restaurant, Pedro Sanchez, has been in the United States for two years. He was in the kitchen when the grease fire started. He said that he tried putting the flames out with a fire extinguisher, but that he became scared and ran out of the restaurant. “I really love having a restaurant…” Sanchez said, “It’s my life. We will come back”.

Michael Freeman, a frequent customer at Pedro’s, was the only customer in the restaurant at the time of the fire. He said that he saw an unusual amount of smoke coming out of the kitchen, as well as hearing Pedro yelling from the back. He ran out of the building and immediately dialed emergency response.

Deputy Fire Chief Greg Chamberlain stated that the fire occurred around 2 p.m. and did damage to the three story building. The upper two stories were an apartment that housed Pedro’s brother, Miguel Sanchez, and his two daughters. Chamberlain said that there were no fatalities, but that the two girls were taken to the hospital for safety precautions.

Miguel Sanchez, who recently arrived to the United States from Mexico, said that his daughters, ages two and four, are doing well. His wife is still in Mexico.