Mr. G’s Still Standing Following Sunday Fire

Firefighters douse fire coming from a vent for one of the kitchen’s grills. The fire had snuck up the wall, said Jacksonport Fire Chief Nathan LeClair. Photo by Tad Dukehart.

Smoke damage is significant, fire chief says

Firefighters prevented a Sunday-afternoon blaze from claiming much of the building at Mr. G’s Logan Creek Grille in Jacksonport. 

“It could have been a lot worse,” said Jacksonport Fire Chief Nathan LeClair. “I think every party involved is fortunate.”

It’s unclear at this time where or how the fire started at the restaurant on Highway 57, with its adjoining Fernwood Gardens Ballroom. LeClair said he’s still investigating the scene and should know in a few days what took place.

Crews were dispatched at 12:15 pm on Sunday, Oct. 23, because of smoke coming from the back side of the building. 

“The person who had called it in had gone up to the residence [on the second floor above the restaurant] and searched, but no one was home,” LeClair said. “But they did get a dog out of there.”

The restaurant was closed for the season and no one was hurt while firefighters fought the blaze.

LeClair said when they arrived on the scene a few minutes after the call, the outside of the back kitchen area was already in flames. They knocked that back quickly and began making entry about 15 minutes after the initial call to find all the fires and hot spots in the large restaurant and ballroom building.

“At that point, I knew I needed more manpower based on the initial entry,” LeClair said.

Meanwhile, the Door County Sheriff’s Office had closed Highway 57 to enable backup crews to work more easily at the site.

“We had to go through the side of the second story,” LeClair said.

Although they saved the structure, LeClair said there’s smoke damage throughout the entire complex, including within the ballroom.

Firefighters used 5,000 gallons of water and foam before they were finished some three hours after arriving. Nearby Logan Creek provided the water source.

As firefighting goes, “it’s actually not” a lot of water, LeClair said. “This was a good scenario.”

He attributed that to the quick action of the person who called, to the speed of the departments that responded and to the backup support he received.

“I just needed personnel, not more engines – just bodies,” he said. 

Those bodies showed up, with 50-60 emergency responders on the scene. And they arrived from every department – from Sister Bay in the north, to Casco and Algoma in Kewaunee County in the south.

“It helped,” LeClair said. “They knew what they were doing.”

Fires have now hit two iconic Door County restaurants on a Sunday two weeks apart. The first happened Oct. 9 at The English Inn in Fish Creek, when smoke coming from malfunctioning electrical wiring forced the evacuation of diners but did not cause any damage. No one was hurt in that incident, and the restaurant reopened the following evening.