Structure fire closes Mt. Juliet restaurant

Oct. 15—A fire broke out at the Arby's in Mt. Juliet late Wednesday afternoon.

While no one was hurt, the fast-food restaurant will be closed for some time.

The Mt. Juliet alert system issued a warning on social media at 3:55 p.m., notifying those in the area to be mindful of the possibility of a structure fire.

"At this time, we have some ideas of what we think might have started it, but we have not reached a definite conclusion as to exactly what was the cause," said Brent Blamires, the Mt. Juliet fire marshal.

Despite not knowing the cause, the Mt. Juliet Fire Department was able to determine an origin point.

"The origin of the fire was basically in the wall and up in the attic above the freezer unit," Blamires said. "It's in the back of the kitchen area."

Blamires indicated that factors pointed to the fire being "unintentional."

"We have labeled it as 'undetermined,' " Blamires said.

For the time being, the restaurant will be closed. The parking lot is currently blocked off to vehicles.

"It's closed down just because of the smoke and water damage," Blamires said. "They are in the process of getting their (insurance) adjusters out there to figure out what they are going to do next."

While the first responders were on the scene, inclement weather rolled into Mt. Juliet. The high winds impacted their response.

"The wind came in before the rain, which made the fire progress a little bit more," Blamires said. "It did fuel the fire a little bit. The crews were able to get a handle on it quite quickly and knock the fire down. Then, the rain came in. Fortunately, we were done by that time."

As of Friday, Blamires did not have a timetable for the restaurant's reopening.

"I have no idea," Blamires said. "That's an Arby's question. Hopefully, they will be able to get in there and fix what the damage was done."

An attempt to reach Arby's ownership for comment was unsuccessful.