Brainerd Fire Department Responds To Fire At The Skillet Restaurant

Firefighters responded to an early-afternoon fire at a popular Brainerd restaurant on Tuesday.

Shortly after noon, the Brainerd Fire Department received a notification of a fire at the Skillet Restaurant located on Washington Street in Brainerd. Upon arrival, firefighters discovered that the fire had started during repairs that were being made on the restaurant’s roof. Smoke traveled from the roof into the restaurant and kitchen area, but everyone was able to exit the building unharmed.

“We had fire coming through the roof and then the entire restaurant was full of smoke. The apartment that was a second-floor apartment was also full of smoke. There was a crew doing some roof repair on the flat roof above the kitchen area and they were using a torch to heat up the roofing material, so that’s what started the fire,” said Brainerd Fire Department Chief Tim Holmes.

The Brainerd Fire Department reported that the fire had spread from the roof into the building structure, but the extent of the damage is uncertain. On their Facebook page, the Skillet Restaurant said that they will be closed until further notice.