24-05-2025
Fire damages Fairview Heights restaurant with no sprinkler system or working alarm
A fire badly damaged the Captain D's seafood restaurant in Fairview Heights early Saturday morning.
Officials believe it started in the kitchen, according to Fire Chief John Winters, of Fairview Fire Department, which is part of Fairview-Caseyville Township Fire Protection District.
'There were no sprinkler systems, and the alarm system did not activate,' he said. 'So we were behind from the beginning.'
Captain D's is at 6004 S. Illinois St. The fire department received a call about smoke coming from the building at 2:33 a.m. Saturday.
'We were unable to locate the fire because it had gotten up into the attic, so we had to back out and fight it defensively,' Winters said. 'We did get it under control. We were on scene for about three hours.'
The building was unoccupied, and no injuries were reported.
Five other departments — O'Fallon, French Village, Signal Hill, Northwest St. Clair County and Collinsville — also responded to help. East Side and Lebanon stepped in to cover the city of Fairview Heights temporarily.
'It will be up to the insurance company (to decide whether the building is a total loss),' Winters said. 'But they're definitely going to be closed for a long time.'
