The Collegian

Issue date: 11/19/09 Section: News

The Chicago Water Grill and May's Furniture in Jonesville burned nearly to the ground Sunday night after a fire that started around 4:30 p.m. consumed most of the two buildings. Fire crews were still working to keep the flames down at 8 p.m.

At least six fire departments worked to contain the fire that began somewhere inside the restaurant or in the apartments above.

Jonesville Police Department Sergeant Jim Sherman said he received a call that the restaurant's motion sensor was going off around 4:30 p.m. He noticed smoke coming out the restaurant's back windows and called for help.

"I was getting ready to leave and then I called [the fire department]," he said.

Coldwater Fire Department Deputy Director Rich Sherman, Jim's brother, got a call around 5:35 p.m. He said his team was mainly brought in as a defensive unit to keep the fire from spreading from May's to Jonesville Hardware next door.

The restaurant is closed on Sundays and no one lives in the apartments. No major injuries were reported. Restaurant owner Wayne Babcock is currently in London.

Grill cook Joe Kesselring, 23, said the restaurant's accountant had contact information for Babcok in London and told him about the fire.

A 169-year-old firewall - a two-brick thick wall - between the two buildings held.

Hillsdale College junior Katie Cervini said she arrived at the scene around 5:45 p.m. after a friend called her.

"You can feel the heat," she said. "This is insane."

Cervini said May's Furniture used the space above the restaurant for furniture storage. This was confirmed by Jim Sherman.

"You can hear the building collapsing," Cervini said. "This is unbelievably sad."

The only two fire trucks with cranes in Hillsdale County, along with one from a neighboring county, worked to battle the flames from both the front and the back of the buildings.

An excavator ripped apart the building from the back to keep the flames from spreading.

At 7:36 p.m., the machine pulled down the second of two large vents that had extended from the restaurant's kitchen. The entire building was hollowed out - an empty shell of what once was a major draw for patrons from Jonesville and Hillsdale alike.

At some point, the crews had to begin drawing water from a nearby river after hydrants ran low.

Dan Boone, 45, has lived in Jonesville his whole life. He stood watching the fire from in front of Power's Clothing down the street, which his in-laws own.

Around 5 p.m. Boone's wife called him. They were ready to empty out the clothing store if the fire spread any further.

When Boone first arrived the fire was blazing.

"There were flames shooting at least 20 feet high," he said. "I thought it would slow down but then it jumped to May's."

-- Joel Pavelski contributed to this report

For more photos of the fire go to Will Clayton's website: http://www.williamclayton.com/entries/chicago-water-grill-fire/.

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