Fire Forces Evacuation of Steakhouse
About 50 people were evacuated from the Stuart Anderson’s Black Angus steakhouse Tuesday night after cooks discovered a fire in the attic, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.
The blaze, which began about 6 p.m., burned through to the roof, county fire officials said. Firefighters worked for about 20 minutes to put out the fire, which caused about $15,000 damage to the roof and $5,000 damage inside the restaurant.
“They had a bunch of smoke in the kitchen, and when one of the cooks lifted a panel in the ceiling, he saw a fire,” said a hostess. “They tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher, but right away saw it wasn’t going to work, so they called the Fire Department.”
As the cooks fought the blaze, restaurant employees explained the situation to startled diners and asked them to leave the building, the hostess said.
“Everyone was just great about it--they were calm and it went smoothly,” she said.
No one was injured in the fire, which is under investigation.
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