Photos, Video: Apple Valley Firefighters Respond to Eagan Restaurant Fire

Apple Valley firefighters were some of 100 firefighters who responded to a fire that broke out early Wednesday at Ansari's Mediterranean Grill and Lounge in Eagan, which is likely a total loss, said Eagan Fire Chief Mike Scott.

Midmorning Wednesday, Scott said it was too early to tell the exact cause of the fire.

Nobody was inside the building, near Cliff Road and Rahncliff Road in Eagan, when the first alarm went off at about 4:45 a.m., he said. The last employee had left around 3 a.m., Scott said.

The first responders saw heavy smoke and flames through the roof above the restrooms and kitchen, Scott said. Responders called for a second alarm, then a third. All six Eagan fire units and one Apple Valley unit responded, he said.

Eventually, about 100 firefighters from Eagan, Apple Valley, Mendota Heights, Inver Grove Heights and Burnsville were on the scene, he said.

He said firefighters would likely be out for several more hours at the scene to put out hotspots.

Scott said the cold proved challenging for firefighters trying to battle the fire.

"It's just beating us up," Scott said.

On top of firefighters needing to take breaks from being out in the negative temperatures, the ladder on one of the trucks froze and the first fire hydrant they tried to use also was frozen, he said.

A tent was set up in the parking lot of the next-door strip mall for firefighters to warm up, and they also rotated sitting in trucks or going inside a nearby business to keep warm, Scott said.