WASHINGTON — A fire destroyed a popular restaurant in Upper Marlboro, Maryland Wednesday morning.
The cause of the 3:30 a.m. fire at Tuckers Restaurant remains under investigation
The fire, reported by a 911 caller, did about $2 million in damage. It was earlier reported to be about $1 million, but was later updated. The structure damage is estimated at about $1.3 million while the contents were valued at $700,000.
More than 100 firefighters responded to the restaurant at 9205 Marlboro Pike, where heavy smoke was seen coming from the roof. The smoke could be seen for miles, according to callers to the WTOP Traffic Center.
“The majority of the fire was located in the attic/roof area which continued to extend rapidly and grow in intensity,” says Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department spokesman Mark Brady, in a news release.
Prince George’s Fire Chief Mark Bashoor tweeted about the difficulty in battling the blaze in the roof.
Now 3rd alarm, over 100 FFs operating restaurant/liquor store – difficult fire in roof area, evacuation tones sounded pic.twitter.com/DAlDi4wHhV
— Marc Bashoor (@PGFD_Chief) June 17, 2015
Brady says after 30 minutes of fighting the fire, all firefighters were evacuated from the building, out of fear that the roof was about to collapse.
“And, in fact, the roof did collapse a short time after our personnel evacuated,” Brady tells WTOP
Recon Op in progress – pic of roof collapse. pic.twitter.com/locoNWfuA6 — Marc Bashoor (@PGFD_Chief) June 17, 2015
At 5:10 a.m., the bulk of the fire had been extinguished using lots of water from extended ladders over the structure.
No injuries were reported.
Tuckers, built in 1969, is a large strip center that includes a liquor store, lounge and restaurant with carry out. It’s normally open from 7 a.m. to midnight.
“It certainly will be missed by a lot of people in Prince George’s County,” Brady tells WTOP.
When firefighters were on the scene, parts of Marlboro Pike at Dower House Road, as well as Old Marlboro Pike, were closed.
