Restaurant survives early morning fire
By Barbara Lyon and Joel Becker
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 7:09 AM CST
“It could have been so much worse.”
That’s what owner Terry Vajrt had to say about a fire that broke out early Saturday morning at the Creamery Inn and Restaurant in Downsville.
According to Captain Don Terkelsen, the Menomonie Fire Department (MFD) was dispatched at 4:15 a.m. after receiving a report of a structure fire — and two elderly occupants trapped inside the inn.
Five minutes later, Dunn County sheriff’s deputies Matt Feeney and Joe O’Connell arrived on the scene.
Feeney injured his hand when he broke a large window next to the restaurant’s front door to get into the building and locate the couple who made the 9-1-1 call, Vajrt reported Monday morning.
“The building was full of smoke. Matt didn’t know where the room was,” he said, “but they [dispatchers] still had the people on the line.”
The Birdhouse, a separate lodging facility located next to The Creamery, was full occupied, so Joe and Mary Stark of New Berlin were staying at the original inn.
Mary told Vajrt that she heard the smoke alarms, but because she is hard of hearing, she thought the sound was coming from an alarm clock in a nearby room.
Full of smoke
“She said she noticed that her throat was really dry,” Vajrt said. “Then she flipped on the light and saw that the room was full of smoke. They put a towel under the door, got low and called 9-1-1.”
Feeney and O’Connell located the Starks, but a ladder was needed to get them out of the building, Terkelsen said. The first MFD engine arrived at 4:22 a.m., and the deputies led the Starks down a ladder to safety. The couple sustained no injuries.
Although the building was filled with smoke, the fire was contained to a mechanical room near the kitchen that was constructed of two layers of sheetrock and equipped with a fire door.
“The fire didn’t spread beyond that room, which was fantastic,” said MFD captain Denny Klass.
Vajrt said the room contained hot water heaters, washing machines and dryers.
“The room is just below the building’s air exchangers, which pushed the smoke throughout the building and tripped the alarms,” he explained.
Finding the source
As a result, however, it made it a challenge for firefighters to locate the source of the fire.
“The firefighters went first to the kitchen and found the source quickly,” Vajrt said. “They told me later that they crawled through the dining room [where the tables were fully set] — and didn’t break a wine glass.”
When the opened the door, he added, the room was fully engulfed in flames. But the intense heat of the fire melted the solder on the copper water pipes, causing water to spray throughout the room.
Terkelsen said the fire was declared under control at 5:15 a.m.
Early call
Vajrt’s wife and Creamery co-owner, Paula, said some instinct must have been activated when the couple was awakened by the early morning alert.
“The phone rang just once; Terry jumped out of bed and got it on the first ring,” she recalled. “Seconds later, he was opening drawers and pulling on clothes. My first thought was ‘fire!’”
Vajrt said when he arrived on the scene five minutes later, the scene that greeted him was like something out of a movie.
“There were 10 or 12 firefighters there and 30-foot floodlights set up,” he said. “I was expecting to see just a shell.”
Instead of feelings of devastation and loss, Vajrt said he experienced profound relief and gratitude. “Nobody was hurt except Matt and everybody — and everything — did their job.”
He noted that the mechanical room and kitchen are located in a portion of the historic building that once contained the icehouse.
“All that old lumber,” Vajrt said, shaking his head, “it could have gone up in an instant. But the building’s standing, and we didn’t lose all the history.”
In the meantime, the clean-up that began immediately on Saturday continues. Industrial fans are airing out the structure, and the couple will bring in temporary hot water heaters.
They expect to be able to open the cafe and deli, located in the old gift shop area, very shortly.
“We have a big group of 60 people coming Thursday night,” Vajrt added, “and we’ll be open for business for the weekend.”
MFD estimates that the fire caused about $15,000 damage to the building and another $15,000 to its contents.
Terkelsen reported that 21 MFD personnel responded as well as an additional 10 firefighters from the Durand Fire Department who came to provide mutual support. Durand was able to be dismissed shortly after arrival.
The last engine departed at 7:30 a.m. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
“When something like this happens,” Vajrt concluded, “it really makes you appreciate where your tax dollars go.”
Contact Barbara Lyon at barbara.lyon@lee.net. Joel Becker can be reached at joel.becker@lee.net. |
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Tim Lienau wrote on Nov 20, 2008 6:45 AM: