Firefighters battled a blaze that started sometime Tuesday evening at the Sirloin Stockade, located at 1401 Martin Springs Drive, according to City of Rolla Fire & Rescue.
“Fire crews have remained on the scene through the night to extinguish hot spots and continue salvage and overhaul,” Fire Chief Ron Smith reports. “Unfortunately the building is a total loss. When an exterior attack is used due to the dangerous building conditions, the fire is more difficult to extinguish. The investigation into the cause of the fire will start today. Due to the large fire loss, we will be working with the Missouri State Fire Marshal."
The flames created a spectacle on the south side of Interstate 44 as they engulfed the building. Seven firefighters initially arrived from Rolla Fire & Rescue and witnessed fire showing through the roof. A total of 25 firefighters ended up on scene from both Rolla Fire & Rescue as well as from the Rolla Rural Fire Protection District.
Due to the extent of the fire an exterior fire attack was used, according to fire and rescue, and it was unsafe to enter the building. As of about 9:30 p.m., they were using master streams from three ladder trucks to extinguish the fire.
All employees escaped safely and no firefighters were injured. For much of the night firefighters had to battle through cold weather and a stream of freezing rain which iced over the surrounding area.
“Our personnel worked very hard last night to extinguish this fire. Despite the large fire loss, their effort was valiant,” Smith says. “Sometimes the building is too dangerous to enter and the risk is too great. In this case everyone went home uninjured. I’m proud of our team.”
