Al's Steak House Evacuated; Joliet Fire Responds

JOLIET, IL - Al's Steak House is regarded as one of Joliet's best restaurants and it's a dining landmark but Wednesday will not be remembered as a positive day. Over the lunch hour, several Joliet Fire Department trucks descended on the business at 1990 West Jefferson Street. Another fire engine was subsequently called out to the Marycrest Shopping Center across the street at Basinger's Pharmacy.

Fortunately, there was no structural damage to either Joliet business, fire officials told Patch. A Joliet Fire battalion chief said that city firefighters were summoned to Al's just before 12:30 p.m. The restaurant had smoke coming into the dining room. Investigators later determined that a heater on the roof had its power interrupted as the result of an electrical transformer malfunction on nearby McDonough Street. The electrical transformer mishap was also responsible for the light smoke at Basinger's, fire officials said.

Al's Steak House had evacuated the building as Joliet fire rigs arrived on the scene. Firefighters were there for about 40 minutes before departing. Eventually, several ComEd trucks responded to Al's, inspecting the furnace and electrical system during the afternoon.

Wednesday's incident stirred quite a buzz on social media.

One person commented in a Facebook forum dedicated to Joliet, "Just evacuated from Al's. Electrical fire!"

As of 3:30 p.m., the Al's Facebook page had not posted any information about whether the lunch-hour incident will impact the restaurant's hours. The Al's restaurant Facebook page still listed Al's Steak House as being open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Wednesday, however the parking lot was practically barren on Wednesday afternoon as a couple of ComEd trucks were departing the scene.

Images via John Ferak, Joliet Patch Editor