Suehiro restaurant damaged in Sunday morning fire

A fire brought more than 30 firefighters to Suehiro Japanese Restaurant on Sunday morning. Firefighters entered the restaurant with sledgehammers, chainsaws and flashlights as smoke came out of the building at 223 Linden St.

"I came to open up and saw the smoke coming out of the top," said building and restaurant owner Ed Kendall, 50. He believes the source of the smoke was the water heater.

The two-story commercial building containing offices and a restaurant was built in the 1940s. The building's old construction made the fire hard to contain, Poudre Fire Authority Battalion Chief Jim Pietrangelo said.

The fire spread into hidden void spaces and blocked areas, extending into the basement, Poudre Fire Authority's public information officer Patrick Love said.

Firefighters cut into the floor and walls of Suehiro to completely extinguish the smolder.

"Our No. 1 priority right now is stopping the fire from spreading," Pietrangelo said Sunday morning. "If it catches an air pocket, it could take off."

Firefighters could not yet confirm the origin of the fire. No injuries were reported.

The restaurant will not be open today and likely will not open tomorrow. Poudre Fire Authority is hopeful that it can reopen Tuesday. The entire building sustained smoke damage, but the fire damage was contained to the restaurant.

Poudre Fire Authority will keep a crew stationed there for the entire day.

"If we leave and there's one spark left, it could start back up," Pietrangelo said.

Waitress Rachel Kirkland, 22, was just arriving for her shift when she was told not to go in the building.

"At least we have another restaurant that our customers can go to," Kendall said, as he watched firefighters go into his restaurant with masks covering their faces, sledgehammers in hand.