Elder’s suffers heat, smoke, water damage

HAMILTON — The Hamilton Fire Department responded to a fire at Elder’s Tacos & Steaks on Saturday, May 17, at approximately 11:15 p.m., and promptly extinguished the fire, which was located in a storage room.
HFD Assistant Chief Matt McCracken noted heat, smoke and water damage were the major issues inside the building, and there was no fire damage inside the restaurant itself or in the kitchen.
“The HFD was called to 224 1st Avenue S.W., for a possible fire with smoke in the area to investigate,” he said. “The smoke was reported as being inside and outside the location, which was Elder’s Tacos & Steaks.”
McCracken noted the call came in at 11:06 p.m., with a very slight delay in response time because the shift crew was on a medical call.
“We had some volunteers and off duty personnel who responded, so it still wasn’t a bad arrival time, but this explains the slight delay,” he said.
“They got on scene to find light smoke showing, but no flames visible. They took actions to make entry into the building, and they found  the fire in what would be referred to by the staff of Elder’s as ‘the warehouse’ or a storage room.”
McCracken noted the fire had also burned through a plastic water pipe.
“We have made an initial look at it from an investigative standpoint, but we are not ready to release anything about that at this point,” he said.
“We are also talking with the insurance company about whether they will bring a private investigator in or not.”
Regarding the restaurant’s owner, McCracken noted, “Mr. Elder Maeda has been extremely cooperative. It seems like he’s ready to get things cleaned up so he can get his building open again.
“The fire would have been much worse, but someone was closing the Creamery (located across the street) at approximately 11 p.m. and saw the smoke and notified 9-1-1.”
The assistant fire chief also noted the Elder’s building is connected to Sister-Friend’s Attic, with that building “possibly incurring some damage.”
Sister-Friend’s Attic Owners Kim Frye and Phylis Tice told JR’s Erin Williams they are closed at this time, due to a power outage.
No other details are available at this time, as McCracken was still investigating on Monday, May 19, as this issue of the Journal-Record was on deadline to print.