Fire broke out at Hale’s Restaurant early Friday morning.
The fire means both “good” and bad news for the owners and customers of the downtown Hermiston eatery at 174 Main St.
The good news: the building is still standing, and dining room suffered only minor smoke damage.
The bad news: The kitchen and attic suffered fire, smoke and water damage in the blaze. Kitchen equipment and portions of the roof will need to be replaced before the steakhouse can reopen.
“No one got hurt, and it could have been much worse,” Hermiston Fire & Emergency Services Scott Stanton said Friday. “We wish them a speedy recovery back to business.”
Hermiston firefighters were dispatched to downtown at 2:31 a.m. after reports of a fire at Cozy Corner Tavern. Crews quickly discovered the fire in the kitchen area and attic space at Hale’s.
Fire control efforts continued until about 3:15 a.m., according to Stanton, and 46 firefighters responded from Hermiston, Umatilla and Stanfield. Crews were on scene until about 6:30 a.m.
Stanton said the fire began in the kitchen area, most likely near one of the grills.
“Had this been 30 minutes or 60 minutes later, we would have had a fully engulfed building,” Stanton said. “From the fire standpoint, we consider this a success.”
A post on the restaurant’s Facebook page at 9 a.m. Friday said Hale’s will be closed for about a month:
“Hales will be closed for about a month due to a fire in our kitchen last night. Nobody was hurt and everything will be okay. Please keep Ford & Dana, the family and staff in your thoughts and prayers. We will be back soon!”
