Manna Café on Main Burns - The Beattyville Enterprise, - Thursday, December 3, 2015

     As most of us were making final preparations for Thanksgiving and many were already in bed for the evening, a call went out at 11:23pm on Wednesday, November 25 that a local restaurant, Manna Café on Main, was on fire. Fire units for Beattyville/Lee County, Beartrack, Primrose, Tri-Community, Jackson City, and Wolfe County responded. The fire was called out at 2:15am with no reported injuries and the hotspot/rekindle watch was set.

     In the wake of the fire, a local business, which was a gathering place for good food and fellowship is closed, several restaurant staff are out of work, a landlord’s property is destroyed and a downtown streetscape, already marred by empty and falling down buildings, adds another scar. It is a dark cloud on many levels for the community.

     There is, however, a silver lining for this dark cloud and that is the commitment and dedication of the 40 firefighters and first responders who raced to the scene in the middle of the night to battle the blaze. As property owner, Phillip Lucas said, “I really appreciate the fire department. I can’t say enough about the firefighters who come at any time of the day or night and expect nothing in return.”

     Because of the rapid response by firefighters, the Kentucky Farm Bureau office located next to Manna Café on Main, had only minor smoke damage and no other buildings, according to reports, were impacted.

     Lucas has spoken with Lee Murphy, the restaurant owner: neither has decided on a course for the future yet.

     After the fire was out, the hotspot/rekindle watch stayed on scene until 8:00 a.m. A month the firefighters on scene, was Beattyville/Lee County Fire Chief, Hargis Ross.

     Looking at Ross sitting in the fire engine as the sun rose to start a new day, it was hard to imagine he, only fifteen days earlier, had been in the hospital suffering from a heart attack or “a bump in the roads” as he described it.

     As the holiday season of giving fills our lives, remember those who have lost much in the fire, and these volunteer firefighters, because of them and their voluntary sacrifices, our holidays, homes, and families are safer.