REDWATER, Texas-The Bowie County Fire Marshal's Office is still investigating circumstances surrounding a fire that destroyed the Redwater Diner early Friday morning.
Bowie County Fire Marshal Jim Roberts said the fire started a few minutes before 4 a.m.
"A passer-by said he saw smoke coming from the building, and by the time the firefighters arrived, they said they could see flames showing," Roberts said.
Volunteer firefighters from across the county, including Redwater, Maud, New Boston, Pleasant Grove, C-5, Liberty-Eylau, Wake Village Fire Department and the Red River Army Depot Fire Department, responded to the blaze, which they brought under control by 5 a.m., Roberts added. LifeNet and the American Red Cross also arrived on the scene.
At presstime, firefighters and investigators were photographing the fire scene and sifting through the rubble attempting to locate the fire's origin.
Roberts said a couple of residents live in an apartment attached to the diner, but they evacuated safely and no one was injured.
Firefighters continued throughout the morning to knock out random hot spots inside the diner in a attempt to find out where the fire originated.
"Right now, we are still trying to isolate where the fire may have started," Roberts said.
The diner occupied the building in June of 2015, after Delaughter's Grocery moved out, according to city records, said Redwater Assistant City Secretary Cindy Bartlett.
Some Redwater residents, as well as residents from surrounding areas, said the diner was a popular weekend destination for people from throughout the county,
"Both Friday and Saturday nights were fish nights out at the diner," said Maud, Texas, resident Jo Ann Humphrey. "Both weekend nights were packed with customers. I use to go there once a week after playing bingo at the Redwater Community Center."
Bartlett agreed.
"The place was very popular-especially on Friday nights," she said. "People would come from all over the county."