The fire that shut down King Buffet Monday started with a discarded cigarette, firefighters say.
Lafayette firefighters were called to the Bertrand Drive restaurant around 2:30 p.m. Monday, after smoke started billowing from the front facade of the building. Four nearby stations sent six trucks and 22 firefighters to the scene. They found smoke coming from the roof and the facade of the restaurant.
Firefighters used an aerial ladder truck to reach the roof, and they excavated parts of the roof and found the fire inside the front of the building. They got the fire out within about 20 minutes; the inside of the restaurant sustained smoke damage. The business will now be closed for repairs, firefighters say.
Several other businesses in the strip shopping center were disrupted, but their power was restored and they were back open for business Monday night.
Investigators determined it was an improperly discarded cigarette that started a fire inside one of the columns in front of the restaurant. They found several cigarette butts in the area, and they found them around other columns. Apparently, it's a common practice for diners to place their smoldering cigarettes on the edges of the columns, and that's how the fire started.
The cause was ruled an accident.
No injuries were reported in the fire; everyone inside had been evacuated before firefighters arrived on the scene.
