Fire Breaks Out at Union Cattle Company

Redondo Beach firefighters worked side by side with their South Bay counterparts battling flames at Union Cattle Company restaurant in Hermosa Beach Saturday evening.

The fire broke out around 7 p.m. in a kitchen vent, firefighters said. Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach firefighters worked together to extinguish the blaze.

No one was injured in the fire, and the cause of the fire and report of damages have not yet been released. Officials suspect it was a grease fire and damage remained isolated to the kitchen area, said John Weber, Manhattan Beach fire department battalion chief. He added that it's "highly unlikely" the restaurant would open again for service this weekend.

The fire started in a kitchen hood system, where the employees tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher, according to Hermosa Beach police Officer Donovan Sellan. Meanwhile, a neighbor who saw and smelled smoke, called the fire department.

Sellan said that, by quickly calling, the neighbor helped keep the fire from developing into something worse, and fire crews did their part "to make sure that all of it's out."

Union Cattle employees and nearby residents stood outside and watched as large clouds of smoke rose through a vent on the roof and filled the air above the Pier Avenue restaurant.

By the time crews arrived, the fire had traveled to the roof, Weber said.

"Units went to the roof, extinguished the fire on the roof, and then the fire started up again in the kitchen area and they extinguished that a second time," he said.

About 15 officials from all of the beach cities — Hermosa, Redondo and Manhattan — worked together at the scene of the fire, Weber said. The three departments often assist with emergencies in each town as part of a mutual aid program in the South Bay.

"Hermosa was the first engine here," Weber said. "We had two engines from Manhattan and a truck from Redondo, a rescue from Manhattan and battalion chief, myself, from Manhattan who came."