Fire tears through Chili’s Bar & Grill restaurant on McKnight Road, closing business indefinitely

ROSS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The Chili’s in Ross Township was supposed to open its doors Sunday at 11 a.m. but a fire that broke out around 9 a.m. closed the restaurant for the foreseeable future.

PHOTOS: Fire crews respond to Chili’s Bar & Grill on McKnight Road

Jayson Rhoades was at work when he found out about the fire.

“Our boss saw it on the security cameras, told us and we went outside to look. I saw a lot of smoke coming out the top of Chili’s,” said Rhoades.

More than two dozen agencies from multiple municipalities helped to get the fire under control. Right now, it’s unclear exactly what sparked it, but witnesses described the smell.

“Just like a grease burn,” Rhoades said. “Guess it was a grease fire of some sort.”

Smoke and flames were shooting from the roof when crews got to the two-alarm fire. Firefighters were tasked with opening the roof where flames raged between the layers of the roof and dropping the ceiling inside. It took about an hour to get things under control.

Channel 11 reached out to Chili’s regarding the fire. A spokesperson said:

“We’re relieved that no one was injured during this morning’s fire at Chili’s McKnight Road, and we want to thank local first responders for their quick efforts. While we work out details of what’s next, we’re placing our McKnight Road Team Members in other local Chili’s locations. For nearby Guests, we hope you’ll join us at Waterworks Chili’s at 855 Freeport Road.”

No one was injured. The fire marshal is investigating the cause.

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