Bluff Street fire nearly destroys Chinese restaurant with 18-year history in St. George

Written by Cody Blowers
October 17, 2022

ST. GEORGE — Heavy smoke billowed into the sky as a fire raged through a Chinese restaurant on South Bluff Street in St. George on Monday.

Smoke billows from building as structure fire spreads through China Palace on South Bluff Street and North 200 West in St. George, Utah, Oct. 17, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Dylan Pincock, St. George News

The blaze caused such significant damage that it will be some time before the business reopens, while the barber school next door was spared any fire damage, thanks to a set of large ventilation fans that disrupted the spread of the blaze.

Just before 9:30 a.m. Monday, firefighters and first responders were dispatched to the China Palace restaurant on the corner of South Bluff and North 200 West in St. George. Smoke was billowing from the windows, a sight reported to emergency dispatch by several motorists heading in both directions on Bluff Street.

Inside the structure, active flames in the kitchen area began to spread throughout the room, sending big clouds of opaque smoke from the building, while police officers alerted all occupants in both businesses. Among them was a class full of students and staff in the adjacent barber school business. They were safely evacuated as the first engines rolled up to the scene.

St. George Fire Chief Robert Stoker told St. George News that emergency dispatch received a number of calls from motorists who spotted heavy smoke coming from the building and called 911. When the smoke began spreading to The Way Barber Academy, a business that shares a common wall with the restaurant, all occupants on that side were evacuated as well, a witness told St. George News at the scene.

One of the students, Dylan Pincock, provided video clips capturing heavy smoke coming from the restaurant shortly the blaze started that were incorporated into the video that can be seen at the top of this report. 

The students lined the street as multiple engines, trucks and a ladder truck arrived to find smoke billowing from the front of the building, as well as thick smoke escaping from the ventilation system. Firefighters entered the two-story structure through the basement. They accessed a stairwell that led directly to the kitchen that was involved in flames and continued to tackle the fire as it continued to spread into the walls and into to the dining area.

Inside the building, crews worked to extinguish the flames that continued to extend throughout the restaurant.

Meanwhile, fire crews also entered the barber school next door and closed all windows and doors to seal that side of the building, Stoker said. Large ventilation fans were placed inside to pressurize that sealed area, which slowed the spread of the air considerably, Stoker added.

“Fire travels the route of least resistance,” he said. “So by sealing up that side of the building with those fans going, the high pressure created slows the spread by disrupting the flow of air.”

Smoke billows from building as structure fire spreads through China Palace on South Bluff Street and North 200 West in St. George, Utah, Oct. 17, 2022 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

Stoker explained that the high pressure created by the fans pushes against the incoming air carrying the smoke and flames, so it works against the flow and makes it more difficult for it to enter that area, thus giving crews time to extinguish the flames before they have a chance to spread.

The fire continued to burn for nearly an hour before the active flames were extinguished. Crews then began the task of overhauling the structure in search of burning embers. They also pulled material from the scorched area to extinguish anything still smoldering to prevent a reignition that could cause a secondary fire, a task expected to continue for several hours.

The entire restaurant sustained extensive damage, while the kitchen was destroyed in the blaze. The barber school sustained some smoke damage, Stoker said, but suppression efforts prevented the flames from spreading to that side of the building.

The blaze started in the kitchen area, but the cause is still under investigation and has yet to be determined. Stoker also said they are working to assess the damage caused by the blaze.

On the restaurant side, Stoker said, the entire structure sustained extensive fire, smoke and heavy water damage,  as well as damage that resulted from crews pulling down nearly the entire ceiling on the inside of the building, he said, which allowed them to gain access to the flames extending into the attic area.

Moreover, all utilities to that side of the building had to be shut off as well, as crews from Dominion Energy and St. George City utility crews responded to the scene to assess the extent of the damage to the electrical and natural gas lines.

Due to the extensive structure and line damage, he said, the restaurant will likely be out of business for quite some time.

The St. George Fire Department, St. George Police Department, Gold Cross Ambulance, Dominion Energy and St. George Utilities responded to the scene.  This report is based on statements from police, emergency personnel or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. 

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cody Blowers was raised in South San Francisco, California. A 2013 graduate of Colorado Technical University, Cody earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a minor in paralegal studies. Through the course of her academic studies she discovered that writing is her true passion, and she is committed to providing credible, integrated news coverage. Cody joined St. George News in 2015, and when she’s not busy chasing the news, she can generally be found chasing her young granddaughter, Kali.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews

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