Old West Steakhouse Burns in Overnight Fire

McKENZIE (January 7) — Local officials and the TBI are investigating a Tuesday night, Wednesday morning fire at Old West Steakhouse that resulted in a multiple fire department response.

The overnight fire, located at 15895 Highland Drive in McKenzie, resulted in a total loss of contents with an estimated property loss value of $193,800 and estimated content loss value of $150,000. The cause is pending further investigation by local authorities and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI).

According to the official incident report, a caller reported seeing fire on the roof of the restaurant. The first unit arrived at approximately 11:43 p.m. Tuesday night. Upon arrival, fire was observed coming from a HVAC unit located on the roof of the building. A crew went to the roof to attempt to extinguish the fire but advised the fire was not contained to just the roof.

Fire Chief Brian Tucker ordered the firefighters from the roof immediately. The report states, “We observed smoke puffing from all the eaves of the structure and suspected the fire was throughout the building. The crew was ordered off the roof. Due to the extent of the fire inside of the building, we determined it was not safe to enter the structure for an aggressive interior attack. We established a water supply and deployed several attack lines before attempting to access the doors of the building. We also requested mutual aid from Huntingdon Fire Department, Carroll County Fire Department and Gleason Fire Department.”

Upon the arrival of mutual aid units, firefighters entered the structure through forced entry of the front door. The fire escalated and within a short period of time the roof collapsed.

“Huntingdon Ladder 1 established a water supply and was set up on the A side of the building. The aerial apparatus was used to attack from above. Ground crews operated multiple lines using approximately 260,000 gallons of water to contain the fire,” the report continues.

By 4:16 a.m., Wednesday, January 8, 2025, the fire was considered to be contained. Crews responded back to the property several times after the initial fire in order to cool and contain hot spots within the building.

Officials requested assistance from the TBI to investigate and determine the cause and origin of the fire.

The location was set to be razed to make way for a Taco Bell franchise at the site. At this time, no word has been provided on the property’s future.