Bobby LeeA fire broke out in the kitchen of the Elephant Bar restaurant at the Bay Street Mall about 5:30 p.m. this evening, interrupting a busy post-Christmas shopping day. The fire went up the duct work and extended to the roof of the building on the 5600 block of Bay Street at Shellmound Street, says Battalion Chief Chuck Palmer of the Alameda County Fire Department.
Fire at Bay Street Mall Emeryville @abc7newsBayArea #abc7now @kron4news @TheEvilleEye @ pic.twitter.com/odurMGOTDS
— Christine Mason (@DuongMason) December 27, 2015
Initially raised to two-alarms, the fire was later downgraded. Both Alameda County and Oakland Fire departments responded to the call, which partially blocked traffic along northbound Shellmound Street. The fire was contained within minutes of emergency crews arriving.
Palmer notes that the smoke and flames could be seen from as far away as the Bay Bridge. “There is some damage to the building, extending to the duct work and roofing materials,” said Palmer. “There is smoke and water damage to EQ3 (furniture store)…and to the Elephant Bar.” There were no injuries reported and diners in the Elephant Bar were all safely evacuated [Correction: Report from another source indicated AMC was also evacuated which turned out to be incorrect].
EQ3 and Elephant Bar will remain temporarily closed while water damage restoration services are performed.
Feature Image: @Carmen_drake on Instagram
Firefighters had to break a glass door at EQ3 home furnishings to combat and contain the blaze (Photo: @pawhite via Twitter)
Elephant Bar’s quality has diminished over the past years. I am not surprised of the fire. Usually kitchen fires come from poor kitchen management.
Robin Walker, you sound like a fool! Kitchen management has NOTHING to do with a fire breaking out.
People are out of work for a time and you can’t possibly know what happened. I would suggest that you think of others, not a confirmation of your opinion. Fires happen, even in a circumstance where the kitchen is clean and well kept. Have you checked to see if there were any violations before you said you are not surprised because the kitchen management was poor?