Restaurant Heavily Damaged By Early Morning Fire In Oak Lawn

OAK LAWN, IL—Oak Lawn firefighters were still on the scene of an early morning fire that heavily damaged Mashawee Guy Restaurant, 6840 W. 95th St.

Chief David Wheeler, of the Oak Lawn Fire Department, told Patch that the initial call came in at 3:41 a.m.

“An Oak Lawn police officer was the first one here,” Wheeler said. “They reported a significant fire in the building.”

Wheeler said fire crews arrived a few minutes later. Firefighters used a deck gun on top of the fire cruiser to dampen down the flames.

“Two different attack guns were set up through the front and back doors to get up into the upstairs storage area,” Wheeler added.

The stunned owner sat on a folding chair, staring at the remnants of his restaurant. He was too distraught to speak.

The fire appeared to have started in the kitchen area. The dining area was unscathed with the salt and pepper shakers still on the tables.

Burbank, Chicago Ridge and North Palos firefighters provided backup.

“The alarm didn't escalate because our crews got here quick enough,” Wheeler said. “They were able to dump a ton of water on it real quick and dampen it down, so we didn’t have to get any bigger than that.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.