INDIANAPOLIS — Investigators are looking into the cause of a fire that caused significant damage to a diner on Indianapolis' east side early Thursday.
The fire at the Four Seasons Diner, near Shadeland Avenue and East 21st Street, was reported around 6:15 a.m. Nov. 21.
Four 911 calls reported fire on the building's roof near a sign on the building, and employees reported smoke after the sign was turned on, an Indianapolis Fire Department spokesperson said.
"A customer, he's a regular, he came in to get a carryout, and he said, 'Your building is on fire," and I said, 'I think it's just smoke,' but I came out saw some flames, called 911 immediately," said daytime manager Elisha Gharvi, who's worked at the restaurant for 28 years.
Responding crews found smoke coming from the roof, and later fire, and ensured all occupants of the restaurant made it out without injury.
Smoke eventually made it into the building, and firefighters were ordered to evacuate. The fire was brought under control in shortly over an hour.
No injuries were reported. The business had working smoke alarms, IFD said.
"We have 30-40 employees, a lot of us are single moms," Ghavari said. "I'm a single mother, and this is right before the holiday, and we work every day just to make ends meet, and this is just horrible. This is life for all of us here. We've been here over 30 years, this is definitely good for the east side, and we have a lot of regulars that come in every day just to eat their food here. So this is definitely hard for us, especially right before the holidays."