Galesburg firefighters responded to the Crazy Buffet yesterday to put out a fire in the restaurant’s grill area.
Emergency dispatch was alerted by an alarm company and followed by at least a half dozen calls from passerbys reporting a “large volume of smoke coming from the roof.”
Fire Chief Tom Simkins says firefighters found the kitchen full of smoke.
The hood ventilation system in the kitchen functioned properly and knocked the fire down on the grill according to Simkins.
The fire extended outside the grill and was extinguished with the building’s sprinkler system.
However, the fire also extended upward through the hood duct system, where Simkins says it appears the filters had not been cleaned in sometime and were packed with grease.
This caused the extension to the roof.
The restaurant is closed pending inspection by the Knox County Health Department.
The fire is listed as accidental and no injuries were reported.
