Cajun Critters Seafood caught fire Tuesday morning, causing extensive damage to the Houma restaurant, authorities said.
The Bayou Cane Fire Department was called out at 6:39 a.m. and arrived on scene in three to five minutes to find "pretty heavy fire," Fire Chief Ken Himel said. The roof collapsed over the kitchen area.
Himel said about an hour and 15 minutes passed before the blaze was under control, and firefighters were still cleaning up at the scene by 11 a.m. His department has asked the State Fire Marshal's Office to investigate the blaze.
"Not because we suspect anything, but there's so much damage," Himel said. "The dining area is pretty much not burnt. It's all smoke and soot damage. We were able to stop it at the kitchen. The guys did a really good job."
Himel said no one was injured. Bayou Cane sent two shifts, and the Houma Fire Department also responded for a total of 35-40 firefighters on scene.
The loss of the restaurant affected many people who had come to love the dining spot over the years.
"I was mortified, because this place has a lot of history," said Kevin Babin. "My mom and dad had their 50th anniversary there back in 2005 and I ate there plenty of times."
Himel said the firefighters were also affected.
"Its tough because we eat here too," he said. "It's a staple in the community. We hate to see any business go through something like this but hopefully they'll rebuild and we'll do everything we can to get them back open as quickly as possible."
Paige Trahan responded to Kourtney's post saying she worked at Cajun Critters and that the owners of the restaurant were out of town.
Al Hebert was also in the area and shared several videos of the fire on his Facebook page.