Fire and water burst through the ceiling of the American Burger Bar restaurant in downtown St. Paul Wednesday afternoon, sending patrons and employees into the street.
Friends Jacob Pokorny and Dan Lent said they were having a late lunch when they saw water pour out of the ceiling, parts of the ceiling collapse, and then flames. About a half-dozen occupants fled the building, they said.
No injuries were reported.
Lent said brown water poured from the ceiling at "an insane rate. It was just pouring out everywhere, like streams."
St. Paul Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard said firefighters were called to 354 Wabasha St. N. about 2:15 p.m. About 40 firefighters knocked out the flames by about 2:38 p.m.
Zaccard said the fire appears to have started in the dining room ceiling above a fireplace. The building's sprinkler system was triggered, causing the water that Pokorny and Let witnessed.
The fire sent heavy, thick smoke billowing out of the restaurant and Victory Ramp.
Zaccard said the fire remains under investigation but does not appear suspicious.
CHAO XIONG
