Fire Damages Gig Harbor's Kinza Teriyaki, 1 Firefighter Injured

GIG HARBOR, WA - A fire on Tuesday at a Kimball Drive shopping plaza damaged a local teriyaki restaurant and left one firefighter with minor injuries.

Gig Harbor firefighters responded to the plaza at 6800 Kimball Drive shortly before 8 a.m. Tuesday on a report of a structure fire. At the scene, firefighters traced the source of the fire to the kitchen area of Kinza Teriyaki.

Due to the nature of the fire - in a large shopping plaza with no sprinkler system - the department called in a second alarm, and units from Tacoma, West Pierce, and South Kitsap fire departments helped put out the fire.

One Gig Harbor firefighter sustained minor injuries while trying to open a fire hydrant. Unknown to the firefighters, the hydrant had been damaged; when a firefighter went open it, the entire unit blew off and hit him. Division Chief Eric Waters said the firefighter is expected to be OK.

Because of the time of day, there was no one inside the restaurant, so there were no civilian injuries. The restaurant will remain closed until heavy smoke damage can be fixed, Waters said. No adjacent businesses were damaged by smoke or fire.

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