Passerby Alerted Al's Steak House Employees of Fire

PHOTO: Firefighters on the scene Wednesday at 1504 Mount Vernon Ave., as smoke billows from Al's Steak House on day it re-opens. Alexandria Fire Department photo

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ALEXANDRIA, VA -- A passerby who happened to notice smoke coming from the roof of Al's Steak House Wednesday afternoon in Del Ray alerted unsuspecting employees of the fire, according to Alexandria Fire Department Battalion Chief Chris Kunkle.

Wednesday was the re-opening date for the business, a culinary institution of sorts in the neighborhood, after it had closed in January.

But the business has closed once again, after seeing $200,00 in damages: $125,000 to the building and $75,000 to the interior contents, according to the Fire Marshal's office.

The cause of the fire was heat radiating from the grill rising into a "void space" that collected in the attic, the Fire Marshal's office said.

Located at 1504 Mount Vernon Ave. in Del Ray, the restaurant fire closed down a portion of the main thoroughfare through Del Ray for hours while firefighters handled the incident.

The call for help came in Wednesday afternoon at 3:41 p.m., and firefighters were on the scene at 3:44 p.m. The fire was under control by 4:41 p.m. and fire personnel cleared the scene by 7:15 p.m.

No one was injured in the fire, but high temperatures, with a heat index hovering near 100 degrees, escalated the fire to three alarms, according to Kunkle. About 50 firefighters from several jurisdictions reported to the scene.

Kunkle said that the fire department wanted to be sure that firefighters did not get overheated while fighting the fire, which was located between the ceiling and the roof of the building.

The fire was difficult to get to, and firefighters had to use axes to chop into the roof and ladders to reach it. Firefighters from Arlington County, Fairfax County and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority assisted the Alexandria firefighters, he said.