KYOTO - A fire broke out on the night of November 29th in Kyoto’s busy Pontocho entertainment district, prompting a large-scale evacuation as flames spread from one restaurant to neighboring buildings.
According to the fire department, the blaze was first reported shortly before 7:50 p.m., when an employee called emergency services to say that a fire had started on the first floor of the establishment and smoke was rising to the second floor.
Fire crews worked for roughly three hours before bringing the flames under control, but the three-story wooden structure was completely destroyed, and exterior walls of two adjacent buildings were also burned. Police said the restaurant had been crowded at the time, with 50 customers and 14 employees inside, but all 64 people were able to escape without injury. Nearby restaurants also evacuated large numbers of customers and staff, and no injuries have been confirmed so far.
A person who runs a restaurant in the area said the scene escalated quickly, explaining that “when I looked at the window it was pure white, so I asked the customers to evacuate, closed the shop, and rushed outside.”
Police believe the fire started in the first-floor grilling area of the wooden three-story building, where embers from charcoal may have risen into an exhaust duct and ignited something inside. Authorities plan to investigate the exact cause of the blaze.
Source: KTV NEWS
