West Bend, WI – The West Bend Fire Department is investigating an early morning fire at Braising Pan restaurant, 1100 N. Main St, West Bend, WI.
West Bend Fire Department Lt. Jeff Gustafson the fire call came in just after 1:30 a.m. A passerby reported black smoke coming from the roof of the building at the corner of N. Main Street and Park Avenue.
“Upon arrival our firefighters encountered severe heat, we made several different attacks, and we weren’t able to get to it,” said Gustafson. “We’re unsure of the cause. The fire had a huge head start before we were able to get here.”
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“We think it started in the basement and when the roof collapsed it trapped some of the unburned objects,” Gustafson. “Nobody was hurt. We brought in an excavator to stop the fire from the rest of the building.”
White smoke could be seen pouring from under the roofline on the west side of the building.
Around 5 a.m. an excavator was brought in to knock down the roof and separate the restaurant from the rest of the businesses in the strip mall.
Lt. Gustafson said nobody was hurt and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The Braising Pan is owned by Heather Ford.
Additional photos submitted by Julie Wilde of West Bend below:
My heart goes out to Heather Ford. Her food is amazing and she is so great to work with. Being a survivor of a 2009 fire, my heart goes out to her.