CLEVELAND – The cause of the fire that destroyed J.W. Reed’s Tavern in Cleveland on Sunday has been ruled undetermined but may have been electrical in nature.
Cleveland Fire Chief Ricky Pruitt said Monday that Fire Investigator Charlie Bryson said the fire possibly started from the kitchen exhaust fan or electrical beside it, though the official ruling will be undetermined.
Pruitt suffered a pulled hamstring and injuries to his hands when he fell running to get a fire truck to respond to Sunday’s fire.
The fire was reported shortly before 11 a.m. Co-owner Regina Ward and an employee were in the kitchen preparing for the restaurant’s 11 a.m. opening when someone from the M Star Motel behind the eatery alerted them to the fire.
By the time firefighters arrived, the fire had almost vented through the roof, Pruitt said. That meant firefighters battled it from outside the structure, partly because Georgia Power Co. said it would take an hour for crews to arrive to disconnect power to the building.
Personnel from Cleveland Fire Department, White County Fire Services and Lee Arrendale State Prison Fire Department responded, staying on scene most of the afternoon extinguishing the fire and overhauling.
The restaurant has been known as J.W. Reed’s since 2014. For 20 years prior to that, the Wards operated it at Ma Gooch’s in honor of Pauline “Ma” Gooch, who owned and operated it as Gateway Restaurant from 1967 to 1994.
