Fire brings heavy damage to restaurant in downtown Rushville

RUSHVILLE, Ind. — An investigation is underway after a restaurant became engulfed in flames in downtown Rushville Tuesday evening, bringing the entire downtown area to a standstill.

Rush County EMA Director Chuck Kemker confirmed to FOX59/CBS4 that several fire departments were called shortly after 5 p.m. to the downtown area in response to a report of smoke appearing in a building near 3rd and Main Street.

The Rushville Fire Department requested the assistance of outside agencies after seeing plumes of smoke emanating from downtown while exiting the fire station on N. Perkins Street. In total, Kemker said 12 separate fire departments consisting of between 100 and 125 firefighters assisted on the scene.

This included fire response crews from Henry County, Franklin County, Decatur County and Shelby County.

While officials are unsure where exactly the fire originally erupted, one business was extensively damaged – the Corner Restaurant.

“We got a phone call saying it was on fire. We come up here and it’s fully engulfed,” Dianna Pavey, owner of the Corner Restaurant, said. “We had one small grill fire that never hurt the building, never hurt inside it. Pertained to the grill. That’s the only fire we’ve had in there.”

Pavey began running the restaurant alongside her fiancé in 2013, who she said is now struggling with a terminal cancer diagnosis.

“My fiancé is dying of cancer. This was his dream. This was his restaurant. We all have worked our butts off to pretty much keep it alive for him,” Pavey said. “I was going to run it after he passes. From the looks of it, he’s going to take it with him. They only gave him a month to live. Right now we’re at a month and a half so he’s trying to fight.”

Kemker said the blaze has only affected one building so far and that firefighters are doing everything they can to prevent the flames from spreading to additional buildings in the downtown area.

No occupants or firefighters were injured during the incident.

Kemker stated that the affected building is estimated to have been constructed in the early 1900s.

“This has always been a concern – what if something breaks out in the downtown area? So it’s something that we plan for,” Kemker said. “They’ve got water operations set up because we know it’s putting stress on the city water system. To do that, we’re bringing in extra tankers to shuttle water to help offset the water supply.”

Kemker said the older age of buildings in the area has been an ongoing development with city officials debating different approaches.

“Because of the age of the buildings, it’s something we’ve always talked about and planned for so we could have it in our back pocket in case we ever need it,” Kemker said. “It’s just unfortunate we needed it today. I retired from the fire department and it’s something we talked about the 28 years that I was there. It’s something we’ve always discussed, always planned on, and that’s why we’re doing our best with the plan that we’ve had in place to help prevent people from getting hurt.”

Fire crews will likely remain in the area throughout the rest of the night into early Wednesday morning to continue monitoring hot spots.

As of this article’s publication, fire officials have not provided any information on the extent of the damage caused by the fire.

The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation. Kemker added that residents may have to wait for a number of days before the cause is determined.

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