A famous riverside restaurant in Jeffersonville, Indiana, was destroyed in a huge overnight fire early Tuesday morning, according to the Jeffersonville Fire Department. The fire broke out at Cluckers, located at 100 West Riverside Drive, shortly after 1am.
Fire crews were first called at 1:18 am after receiving a report of a dumpster fire behind the building. However, when firefighters arrived about six minutes later, they found that the flames had already spread to the structure.
“The call initially came in as a report of a trash fire in the rear of the building,” said Jeffersonville Fire Deputy Chief Mike McCutcheon to reporters.
What are the reasons for the fire?
According to fire officials, strong winds and cold weather helped intensify the blaze, making it harder to control. The fire engulfed the restaurant, forcing crews to shift to defensive operations.
“It added fuel to the fire with the wind blowing the way it was, and it was pretty much at the point that they had to go into a defensive mode and take defensive actions and start hitting it from the outside of the structure,” said Jeffersonville Fire Department spokesperson William Meza to reporters. During the firefighting efforts, the roof collapsed, and the building was declared a total loss.
A total of 42 firefighters from 10 units responded to the scene. Jeffersonville Fire Department requested mutual aid from Clarksville Fire and New Albany Fire to cover stations as crews battled the blaze. No additional emergency calls were reported during that time, and the assisting departments remained on standby.
Fire officials confirmed that no injuries were reported, as the restaurant had closed for the night and was unoccupied at the time of the fire.
Another fire instance
In a separate incident, an electrical fire at a high-rise residential building in Old Louisville caused a power outage affecting nearly 130 residents, according to the Louisville Metro Housing Authority (LMHA). The fire occurred Saturday evening at St. Catherine Court, and no injuries were reported.
LMHA said the building’s safety response system activated during the fire but caused further damage to the electrical system. Power has been restored to the first floor and one elevator, but most residents remain without electricity.
“Our top priority is to make sure our residents are safe and make sure they’re cared for, which they are and also to get the power back on so the team is working as quick as they can to get that part here to get the part installed and get things back and running,” said LMHA Executive Director Elizabeth Strojan to reporters. Officials say there is no timeline for full power restoration, as a key replacement part is not currently available in Louisville.
