Fairfield Skyline Chili owner vows to rebuild after massive fire destroys restaurant

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“A lot of destruction, but human lives are (more important). When I came here and saw those firemen leaning over that fire and putting that fire out, I was hoping nobody would be hurt,” Kurlas said.

No one was inside the restaurant at the time of the fire, he said.

The restaurant will be rebuilt, he said.

“It’s our livelihood. This is what we do,” Kurlas told the Journal-News.

MORE: Online retailer moving operations from Los Angeles to Fairfield

His family also owns the Skyline Chili on the West Side of Hamilton.

Employees of the Fairfield Skyline will not be out of work, Kurlas said. They will be temporarily reassigned to other locations.

“That’s our No. 1 concern today ... take care of our people, our employees,” he said.

UPDATE @ 9:15 a.m.:

Fairfield Skyline owner Dennis Kurlas said he will rebuild after fire destroyed his restaurant.

Kurlas told our news partner WCPO that his family has owned franchises for 50 years and has been in this specific spot in Fairfield since 1978.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

FIRST REPORT:

A massive fire destroyed a Skyline Chili in Fairfield Wednesday morning, a fire official told our partners at WCPO.

Fairfield and Hamilton firefighters responded to the restaurant after a police officer passing by notified emergency personal of the flames coming from the roof of the building located at 1190 Hicks Blvd. around 2:30 a.m., Deputy Fire Chief Tom Wagner told WCPO.

Fire officials did not want to send crews into the building because they did not believe anyone was inside, and the roof was collapsing when they arrived, Wagner said.

No injuries were reported, and a cause of the fire is not yet known.