NEW ELLENTON, S.C. — Fire heavily damaged a popular Aiken County barbecue restaurant on Saturday, but first responders are thanking employees for what they did to get everyone out safely.
A spokesperson for the Aiken County Sheriff's Office confirmed to News19 that the fire happened at Dukes Bar-B-Que located at 4248 Whiskey Road around 5 p.m.
Photos from the restaurant shared later in the afternoon show considerable damage to the inside.
However, the New Ellenton Fire Department thanked the crew at Duke's for how they handled the situation.
"They didn’t panic, called 911 quickly, evacuated the building making sure all customers and employees were fine, and they, not realizing it at the time helped tremendously in minimizing the damage," the department said in a post praising their efforts.
The department said employees not only closed doors as they left but also shut off some of the power. They also gave responding crews important information that helped them battle the fire.
"It is unfortunate what happened today but I'm sure the great ownership and staff is up to the challenge of making things even better when they open back up," the department statement said.
Dukes Bar-B-Que Aiken shared on social media that they will likely be closed for weeks or months due to "significant" damage. However, they said they too were thankful the outcome wasn't far worse.
"Most importantly, no one was injured," the restaurant said in its post. "Because of the amazing response of our staff, the majority of the damage was contained to one room
They also thanked first responders and firefighters who arrived at the scene and fought the fire.
Several departments, including Silver Bluff, Jackson, Beech Island, Montmorenci, and Windsor responded to the fire, and Aiken County dispatchers, the sheriff's office, New Ellenton Police, and the Aiken Electric Coop also assisted.
