Indianapolis Fire Department investigators are at the Flying J truck stop at Thompson Road & SR 37 on the southwest side looking into what caused a three-alarm fire Sunday night.
Crews were dispatched to a Denny's restaurant and Flying J truck stop in the 1700 block of W Thompson Road just after 7:30 p.m. Fire officials on scene pulled a third alarm on this fire, calling in around 150 firefighters from IFD and Decatur Township.
The fire started outside the building, and is believed to have been a grease fire. Investigators are focusing their efforts looking into a grease container that is kept on the outside of the building to hold old grease from the restaurant's kitchen. They are also investigating the possibility of lint from a dryer vent as a possible ignition source.
After seeing the fire, a couple of employees first tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher. When that did not work, they went back into the building to alert everyone inside.
"We were sitting there eating. Everyone was sitting around talking, watching the news and then a guy came out of the kitchen screaming and hollering to get out," recalled one customer. "By the time we got past the cash register, they were saying, 'The building's on fire! The building's on fire!' We went out the front door into the parking lot and you could see smoke already coming through the ceiling. The roof of the building already had smoke coming out."
Thanks to the employees' efforts, all 40 people who were inside got out safely.
There were propane tanks inside the Flying J restaurant, as well as the gas pumps at the truck stop's gas station. While firefighters reported hearing some popping sounds, they did not believe those sounds were the tanks exploding.
Andrew Owen saw the smoke from her house and wanted to see what was left.
"Absolutely worse than I expected. I heard the roof collapse, but didn't believe it until I saw it," she said.
As of 9:45 p.m., firefighters' main concern was trying to wrap up their work as quickly as possible because their equipment had effectively trapped a number of truckers, stopping them from getting back on the road.
Monday afternoon, IFD increased the estimated damage from the fire from $2 million to $4 million, which includes $3 million in property loss and $1 million in inventory and equipment.
The ATF and IFD are investigating, but have not yet determined a cause or origin of the fire. Insurance agents representing the businesses located inside the Flying J say weeks worth of filing claims lie ahead.
The truck stop is expected to be closed for some time. Loyal customers, estimated at 2,000 a day - including 1,000 truckers - and 100-200 more overnight, are now learning to change their routine.
"This is the only Denny's, a sit-down dinner, sit-down breakfast, so it's more convenient," said Thomas Levine.
The Flying J enjoyed its reputation as the best value.
"Cheaper than the other side of the highway," said one customer.
Across the interstate, Mr. Fuel was noticeably busy. It's a shift in business for Pilot, which owns all three truck stops at the corner of I-465 and SR 37.
