A downtown Kewaunee restaurant sustained significant damage in a fire Friday afternoon. The Kewaunee Fire Department was paged out at 3:54pm and the first units on the scene encountered smoke and fire at “Bubba J’s Barbeque” at 303 Harrison Street. Fire Chief Greg Hlinak says the fire in a meat smoker/cooker was extinguished, but the interior of the building is considered a total loss. Chief Hlinak says the structure is repairable. He says neighboring buildings were evacuated and sustained smoke damage, noting that all businesses in the district are connected and were impacted by the blaze. Chief Hlinak says the barbeque business was open at the time of the fire and employees were on duty. The chef was transported to medical facilities after being exposed to the heavy smoke. Hlinak says mutual aid was provided by fire departments from Algoma, Carlton, Tisch Mills, Casco and Luxemburg. Kewaunee ambulance stood by and representatives from the American Red Cross were on hand. The damaged building is expected to be inspected by insurance personnel.
