Firefighters made quick work of a storage shed fire adjacent to the Baba Restaurant at 1501 N Main Street in Normal on Tuesday and prevented the fire from spreading into the restaurant building.
Normal firefighters responded just after 2:00 PM to multiple callers reporting smoke in the area of Main Street and Orlando Avenue. Another caller reported the Baba Restaurant building itself was on fire.
Crews arrived within a few minutes and found heavy smoke coming from a storage shed immediately west of the restaurant building. A pre-connected hose line was pulled from the engine and firefighters connected to a hydrant and quickly extinguished the fire and prevented it from spreading further.
Since the restaurant itself was not affected by the fire, it was allowed to reopen following a brief interruption in service due to the smoke affecting the kitchen ventilation.
Baba Restaurant is located in the former Pizza Hut building at the northwest corner of Orlando Avenue and Main Street. Orlando Avenue was closed between Main Street and the north entrance to University Center for approximately thirty minutes.
The shed and the contents sustained fire, smoke, and water damage, but there were no injuries reported.
The origin and cause of the fire is currently under investigation, but does not appear suspicious in nature.
