Fire destroys downtown's Dongola Diner
BY CALEB HALE, THE SOUTHERN
Dongola Library board member Nancy Carrington Schmidt talks with Dongola firemen Chief Patrick Ferguson and Steve Corzine, right, about moving items from the library. The single wall which separates the diner from the library was in danger of collaspe from the fire. (CHUCK NOVARA/THE SOUTHERN)
DONGOLA - Fire gutted a restaurant and threatened a section of downtown Dongola late Tuesday night, as nearly a dozen mutual aid crews responded to contain the blaze.
Dongola firefighters were called to the Dongola Diner, which sits along Front Street (U.S. 51), at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Chief Patrick Ferguson said the department called for assistant from several other crews, when they discovered the fire threatened to burn through to other buildings attached to the diner.
No one was injured in the blaze, but Ferguson said one mutual aid firefighter was overcome with heat exhaustion while fighting the fire. He recovered.
Crews were still on the scene Wednesday morning, monitoring hot spots in the burned out building. Ferguson said officials didn't know what caused the fire but said it started in the back of the building.
Pre-fire
The Dongola Public Library, which shares a wall with the diner, also suffered some damage because the adjoining wall was not fire-proof.
Nancy Carrington-Schmidt was inside the library Wednesday morning, attempting to remove as many books and records sitting along the damaged wall as possible.
"The whole side wall is very unstable," she said. "We're going to have to try to save all our records."
Carrington-Schmidt said while water damage was minimal, it is unclear whether the smoke got to some of the documents.
The diner is considered a total loss. Owners of the establishment could not be reached for comment.
--The Southern, Aug. 3, 2006