EARLY – Shortly after noon Thursday, Brownwood and Early firefighters responded to a structure fire call at the Early Burger King, located at 424 Early Blvd.

According to officials on the scene, residual grease dropped onto the grill and it flared. While the fire extinguishers in the building put out the initial fire, the fire had already progressed into the stove pipe. Firefighters were then forced to extinguish the remainder of the fire from the roof.

The officials stated cosmetic damage was minimal, there was no significant structural damage, but there will be a significant cleanup.

The health inspector and a Burger King corporate employee were headed to the location to assess the damage. There is no time frame on when the restaurant may reopen, but officials on the scene estimated, based on what they’d seen inside, that Monday might be a target date.

Burger King employees were headed home for the day shortly after 1 p.m.

Photo by Bayley Ramphal