Tune Inn fire: Confined to kitchen, bar mostly OK
- A grease fire started at 6:30 a.m. at the Tune Inn on Capitol Hill. (Photo: Jenny Rogers/TBD | Date: Jun. 22, 2011)
UPDATE 10:48 a.m.: TBD's Jenny Rogers talked with a developer who was in the bar getting coffee at the time of the fire. He says the front window's glass was broken by the Fire Department.
Ned Kraemer (NOTE: originally misspelled as "Kramer" by Andrew Beaujon, who is taking Rogers' reports on phone), a bartender at Tune Inn, tells Rogers that the conflagration started as a grease fire at 6:30 a.m. and that most of the damage was limited to the kitchen, which will need to be totally redone.
Capitol Hill, you will have to get your patty melts elsewhere for a while.
The Fire Department didn't need to break in to the Hawk and Dove next door, says Paul Meagher, a manager at the Hawk. Someone at the Tune Inn, he tells Rogers, had a key to the Hawk and Dove.
The street smells smoky, Rogers says, and there are lots of passers-by with long faces. She says reports that the bar is a "charred mess" are inaccurate; it really doesn't look that bad, considering.
ORIGINAL REPORT:
News of a massive fire at Tune Inn restaurant and bar at 333 1/2 Pennsylvania Ave. SE broke on twitter this morning. Reports of the kitchen fire came at about 7 a.m. from the beloved Capitol Hill hole-in-the-wall.
Employees who were in the restaurant when the fire started were evacuated, and no injuries were reported. Firefighters contained the fire, and the damage was moderate said D.C. Fire and EMS spokesman Pete Piringer.
There's an estimated 75k worth of damage. The bar though, could reopen in two weeks, a staff member told the Huffington Post.
"The extent of the damage was initially reported as catastrophic by distraught fans of the bar, but the front of the establishment remains largely undamaged. A grease fire was contained to the kitchen."
Unsure of when they'd reopen, owner, Lisa Nardelli tells the Washington Post, some smoke damage spread throughout the restaurant, whose walls are covered in memorabilia, but the bar area did not suffer extensive damage.
Earlier this morning, "according to a tipster the Tune Inn is reportedly a black, charred mess and and there are nine firetrucks out front. Officials are currently pondering whether they need to bust through the roof of Hawk and Dove because there is so much smoke," reported Famous DC.
@HotlineReid tweets: Dispatch from Capitol Hill: Tune Inn fire started at 7am. 9 fire trucks responded, it's a "black, charred mess," witness says.
@dcfireems tweets: Update - 331 1/2 Pennsylvania Av SE, Tune Inn; comm bldg; Origin, kitchen; Staff called 911; no injuires; Cause, accidental; Damage,$75K
@CharlesAllenDC tweets: We're hearing Tune Inn fire limited to kitchen. Smoke & water damage thru-out building, but can & will be salvaged.
Expect traffic delays on Pennsylvania Avenue between 2nd and 6th streets, SE. Road closures on Pennsylvania Ave. SE.
Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells tweeted a photo of the damage. Other photos at Famous DC and Washingtonian.
Updated at 9:32 a.m.
At the Tune Inn. Fire contained to kitchen. Hawk and Dove OK. Reopen in couple months http://t.co/uBWbORo
OH NO! RT @NKingofDC BREAKING NEWS:Fire at Tune Inn snuffed but windows busted out & lots of fire trucks. Damage (to Hill psyches) unknown.
The pictures from the Tune Inn don't look good.
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