Burger King Fire Leaves Minor Damage: Police

NEW LENOX, IL - A fire broke out on Tuesday evening at the Burger King on Route 30 in New Lenox. Fortunately, no one was hurt and all of the customers and employees made it out safely, said veteran police chief Bob Sterba. He estimated the fire began between 6 and 6:30 p.m. Besides the New Lenox Fire Protection District, village crews from public works, the police department and the building commissioner also arrived on the scene. Public works crews salted the parking lot because of the amount of water sprayed by the firefighters.

Sterba said it was his understanding the Burger King incurred "relatively minor damage."

"I don't know how long they will be closed," he told New Lenox Patch shortly after 8 p.m. "I do not expect them to be closed for an extended period of time."

A New Lenox firefighter told a reporter for Patch at the scene that flames were shooting out through the roof of the building when fire trucks arrived. However, firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze quickly.

At 8:20 p.m., the restaurant was empty and the fire engines had already left. A restoration company arrived with a couple of trucks just before 8:30 p.m. to work inside the building.

Patch will continue to update this story as more information becomes available.

Image via Patch Editor Joe Vince