Burglary investigated after Colorado firefighters put out 2 fires at 2 separate restaurants
Firefighters rushed to put out two fires early Friday morning that were burning in two separate restaurants in Greenwood Village. Crews received the call about 4 a.m. at the strip mall near Arapahoe Road and Interstate 25.
When they arrived, crews saw smoke coming from Fuji Hibachi and Sushi, located in The Shops at Greenwood Village. About 20 minutes later, another fire ignited in the Sportsbook Bar & Grill, located in the same strip mall, just four units to the east.
Crews were able to get both fires under control and then found something that looked suspicious.
Fire crews and Greenwood Village police are investigating broken glass on the side of the bar. They believe the fire could have been caused by someone trying to break into the business.
"What our firefighters encountered was property damage before they arrived at that building. So, signs of forced entry before firefighters arrived and that makes it look like a burglary," said one firefighter with South Metro Fire Rescue.
"As I was coming up, I started to see all the police officers, fire trucks... and then as I was coming in, I stopped by to ask one of the firefighters what was going on and they said it was smoke going through the buildings. I've been here about six years and I haven't seen anything like this. Never," said one witness.
A suspect description has not been released. No one was injured in the fires.
Sportsbook Bar & Grill announced on its Facebook page that it will remain closed until further notice and, "No one was in the building during the burglary, as it happened after hours and all of our staff and customers are safe. We will update on here as soon as we can. Thank you all for your support."
