Jeremy Brilliant/Eyewitness News
Tuesday update: Fire investigators don't believe Monday's fire at Texas Roadhouse was arson. They're still determining the cause and origin.
Indianapolis - Freezing temperatures hampered the efforts of firefighters who battled an early morning restaurant blaze on the east side. The Texas Roadhouse on East Shadeland went up in flames.
Flames shot out of the Texas Roadhouse restaurant around 1:00 am Monday. According to a company spokesman, the last employee left around 11:00 pm. A motion alarm inside the restaurant at 12:40 am prompted IMPD officers to respond. They called for firefighters to tackle the massive blaze that already had a head start. The cause is still a mystery.
"No idea at all. So they're still doing the fire investigation and I'll leave those answers up to the fire department. But I really appreciate the first responders and the job they did," said Bob Glatto, owner.
Firefighters were helpless when they first arrived. Three of the closest fire hydrants were frozen, delaying an attack on the blaze at a critical time.
"The first 15 minutes of the fire we had issues with fire hydrants being frozen and firefighters could not get water on the fire," said Capt. Rita Reith, IFD.
The fire spread from the kitchen in the rear around to the front of the building.
"We're going to do what we can to identify what happened with these hydrants and then go from there," said Paul Whitmore, Indianapolis Water.
According to Indianapolis Water, which maintains the city's 36,000 fire hydrants, one located closest to the restaurant had been tampered with and not closed properly, so the water inside froze. It's unclear why the other two hydrants were frozen.
The restaurant is a total loss. 135 employees are now in limbo, their livelihoods all of the sudden in jeopardy.
"We're all a big family and we're going to take care of these people and going to try to move them to other stores and we will rebuild," said Glatto.
Rebuilding could take up to six months and cost $1.5 million. One firefighter did suffer chest pain during the blaze and was taken to Methodist hospital for observation. Investigators will be back on the scene Tuesday in an effort to determine the origin and cause of the fire.
