Local restaurant destroyed in fire
By Melinda Harrell
Published in News on April 30, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
The remains of Antoinette's restaurant are seen this morning. Firefighters took several hours to extinguish the blaze. Investigators were trying to determine the cause of fire.
MOUNT OLIVE -- An early morning fire at Antoinette's restaurant resulted in the total loss of the building, Mount Olive Fire Chief Greg Wiggins said.
"The building still stands, but the entire interior has heavy smoke damage from ceiling to floor," Wiggins said. "The kitchen and dining room have heavy fire damage, and the fire vented to the roof so we do have a hole in the roof right now, too."
The Mount Olive Fire Department received a call at 1:12 a.m. and were dispatched to the scene on South Breazeale Avenue along with the Dudley Volunteer Fire Department, Smiths Chapel Volunteer Fire Department and Calypso Fire Department.
Wiggins said the restaurant had closed at 9 p.m. Wednesday, and there was no one in the building at the time the fire started.
"There was heavy smoke when we arrived," Wiggins said.
"We had to force entry into the building and discovered the fire was above us and we had to make entry into the attic."
Wiggins said the operation was a success, but not without its challenges.
"It was an older building and had been remodeled numerous times," Wiggins said. "We had void spaces to deal with, which made it a little aggravating to extinguish the blaze."
The fire was put out by 5:45 a.m.
Wiggins said that it is not known where the fire began or what started it, but as of this morning investigators with Wayne County Emergency Services and the Wayne County Sheriff's Office were on the scene looking for clues.
"We don't think there was any kind of foul play with this being a commercial property," Wiggins said. "We just want to do a thorough investigation and determine the cause."
The building once housed a Mount Olive landmark, Dub's Barbecue. After Dub's was sold, it became The Lighthouse and then Antoinette's.