Unattended barbecue pit blamed for Waukegan restaurant fire

Burning charcoal that grew too hot in the barbecue pit at Hillery's Bar-BQ is to blame for a fire there that has shut down the Waukegan restaurant, fire officials say.

Waukegan firefighters were called at about 9:30 a.m. to the restaurant, 2021 N. Lewis Lane, and arrived to discover fire in the BBQ pit and heavy flames coming out of the chimney, Waukegan Fire Marshal Steven Lenzi said.

The fire had spread from the pit - a cooking area resembling a large glass aquarium atop a solid steel base where charcoal is kept burning - and up through the metal hood and into the chimney that carries smoke away from the cooking meat, Lenzi said.

"They had already been cooking for a while this morning," Lenzi said. "They continued to add charcoal as needed and added too much charcoal. If it gets going too hot, they'll spray it down with water. It happened during an employee break time, and it just got away from them."

The front cooking area of the restaurant was also affected, he said, with about $50,000 in total damage to the building and another $25,000 in damage to the contents.

The fire was brought under control within 30 minutes.

"(Firefighters') quick actions and efforts will allow this business to reopen to their longtime Waukegan patrons in a much quicker manner," Lenzi said.

Lenzi expects the restaurant to remain closed for about a month while owners repair the drop ceiling and some light fixtures, in addition to the damaged pit area and smoke damage.

The cause of the fire is considered unattended cooking, Lenzi said. Nobody was injured.

Lenzi wanted to remind people that Thanksgiving is the No. 1 time of year for cooking fires.

"Hopefully we can all learn from the mistakes of a professional cook and make the most of a bad situation," he said. "Hopefully we can prevent fires during the upcoming holiday season."