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(UPDATE: Oct. 7 @ 7:45 am): The damage caused by a fire at the Olympia Greek Taverna in Rutland last night "could be as bad as a knock-down," its owner has said.
Mike Koutsantonis said the Kelowna Fire Department is still working on "a few hotspots," but the fire is otherwise under control.
"It's very, very severe," Koutsantonis said of the damage.
"We don't know yet. But it could be as bad as a knock-down."
The business has been run by three generations of the same family in the Rutland location since 1973.
An earlier downtown location was open from 1968 to 2006.
"We are not giving up," Koutsantonis said.
Firefighters are still investigating how the fire started, he added.
Nobody was hurt, Koutsantonis explained, adding that he was in bed when he was told of the fire.
KFD Platoon Captain Dennis Miller said firefighters were called at about 11:13 pm last night.
"On scene, the first arriving officer confirmed there was a fire located in rear portion of [the] restaurant," he explained.
"The fire had spread throughout the restaurant and was very difficult to extinguish. Fire crews remain on scene extinguishing hot spots."
Fire investigators arrived at 8:45 am.
"The investigation team is on site and they haven't come to a determination yet," said the KFD's Mike Brownlee.
"In the meantime, our members continue to hose down hot spots on the partially collapsed roof. There's a lot of structural damage and a lot of interior fire and smoke damage too."
Hwy 33's northbound lanes in front of Olympia remain closed between Plaza 33 and Rutland Road North as firefighters continue to mop up and investigators do their work.
Four engines, a command unit, rescue truck, two ladder trucks and 25 fire personnel helped get the fire under control.
– With files from Steve MacNaull
(Original story: Oct. 7 @ 6:19 am): A fire started at the Olympia Greek Taverna in Rutland last night.
Witnesses told KelownaNow the smoke was visible across the city on Tuesday.
Pictures from the scene just off Hwy 33 show firefighters apparently extinguishing flames.
The Kelowna Fire Department is yet to release information about the extent of the damage.
One witness, however, said there was “lots of smoke” and “at least five fire trucks” along with police and medics.
DriveBC explained just before midnight that the southbound lanes on Hwy 33 had been closed from Park Road to Prior Road South because of the fire.
**Structure Fire** next to #BCHwy33 in #KelownaBC has temporarily closed the southbound lanes from Park Rd to Prior Rd S. Police and fire department are re-routing traffic around the area. Check @DriveBC for updates on this event. @AimRoads @TranBC pic.twitter.com/FP7AQX3VMX
— AIMRoads (@AimRoads) October 7, 2020
This story will be updated when more information becomes available.
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