Firefighters deal with careless driver during Burger King blaze

A fire yesterday morning damaged the kitchen, roof and ventilation system at the Taylorsville Burger King restaurant.

German Township Fire Chief Matt Lynch says crews from his department and Clifford Volunteer Fire Department were called in at 5:58 a.m. in the morning after workers discovered smoke in the building. Columbus Fire and Columbus Township Fire & Rescue were also called in for more backup and for their ladder trucks.

Firefighters encountered heavy smoke in the building and located the fire between the building’s roof and the drop ceiling in the kitchen. Firefighters on the roof discovered the fire extended to the building’s rubber roof and the kitchen ventilation system. The fire was under control at just before 7 a.m. in the morning. Crews were on scene until about 8:30 a.m. pulling the ceiling, looking for additional fire and ventilating the building.

Lynch said firefighters faced one unexpected complication when a pickup truck driver decided to run over one of the charged fire hoses. The hose ran from the hydrant at Speedway next door to the restaurant.

Although no one was injured by the mishap, Lynch warned that by running over a fire hose you are putting firefighters at risk and possibly cutting through the hose. If that happens, commanders would have to pull crews out of the fire until the hose can be replaced.