L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Firefighters from LaPlace, Reserve and Norco spent close to two hours Thursday afternoon extinguishing a fire that destroyed a longtime LaPlace barbecue restaurant.

A passing motorist called authorities and reported flames shooting out from the roof of the all-wood structure that was home to Smokey’s Barbecue and Caterers on Airline Highway, said LaPlace Volunteer Fire Chief John Snyder. Snyder said dispatchers received the call around 2:25 p.m. Thursday.

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Investigators have not determined a cause or an area of origin of the fire. An investigation by the State Fire Marshal’s office will begin on Monday. Snyder said Thursday that he believes the blaze ignited somewhere in the east section of the building. The east side of the structure collapsed as firefighters worked to quell the flames. Snyder said the fire was under control by about 3:30 p.m.

The restaurant was closed when the fire began and no one was inside when fire officials arrived. Snyder said the 21 firefighters who responded to the fire had to force their way in through the front door when they arrived around 2:30 p.m. He said no one was injured during the fire.

Snyder said the wooden construction of the restaurant made it easy for flames to spread quickly throughout the building, which sits next to a gas station. He said all utilities were shut off as a precaution while the fire was being put out.

Firefighters used several hoses to fight the blaze from the inside of the western half of the building and the outside of the collapsed portion, while a hook and ladder truck, parked in the gas station parking lot, sprayed water on the roof of the structure.

Snyder said authorities had to close a portion of the right lane of westbound Airline Highway so that firefighters could connect hoses to a fire hydrant around the corner from the building. He said the closest hydrant to the area sits at the edge of a parking lot across from the scene, but connecting hoses to that spot would have shut down both sides Airline. As it was, traffic on the major artery near the restaurant was snarled in both directions through the duration of the fire.

Smokey’s owner and operator, 62-year-old Robert Blythe of LaPlace, could not be reached for comment as of press time Friday morning. A sign near the building indicated that the restaurant, which served an assortment of barbecue and seafood meals, opened for business in 1981.