Mill Valley, CA - A fire extinguishing system built into a kitchen grill's hood minimized damage during a fire at popular Mill Valley restaurant Sunday morning.
There was no structural damage to Joe's Taco Lounge & Salsaria, at 382 Miller Ave., after the 11 a.m. incident, said Battalion Chief Mark Glenn of the Mill Valley Fire Department. No one was injured.
The single-alarm fire was seen by several dozen bystanders at the corner of Miller and Montford avenues, next door to the famed 2 A.M. Club bar. A second alarm was called but was quickly canceled, Glenn said.
"We pulled a line inside but didn't flow any water," he said. "The hood system extinguished the fire."
Although there was no water damage, the smoke lingered both at the taco shop and the 2 A.M Club, Glenn said.
Claudia Cowan, a Mill Valley resident and a correspondent for Fox News, was walking by with her daughter Sabrina Baker when she heard the fire alarm sounding, saw smoke through the roof and saw people leaving the restaurant.
"I said, 'See, Sabrina? You never know what you might see when you go for a walk,'" Cowan said. "It looked like a fairly serious kitchen fire, but the fire went out just as the fire engines pulled up."
Cowan added, "We were heartbroken because we love that restaurant."
Glenn said the initial dispatch included four engines, a rescue unit and an ambulance. He said the monetary damage was limited to "what was cooking on the grill." |
