Fire damages local catfish restaurant

Kannu, owner of Country Catfish and Steakhouse off Hwy. 28 in Hazlehurst, awaits the report of an investigator from the State Fire Marshall’s office after a fire damaged his business early Monday morning. Shown is the inside southwest corner of the restaurant, where he believes the fire originated.
When firefighters arrived, the discovered that a fire had burned most of the office and kitchen areas of the facility and worked quickly to extinguish flames. No one was injured.
Kannu, owner of the restaurant, said Monday that he thinks it was a spark from an electrical power strip that may have caused the blaze. On Monday morning, he was awaiting an insurance adjuster as investigators from the State Fire Marshall’s office examined the scene.
“We are very fortunate that no one was here to be hurt by the fire,” Kannu said. “We can always rebuild. We can’t get a life back,” he added.
Kannu expects the restaurant to be closed for a few weeks until repairs are complete.