Firefighters in Atlantic were busy late Monday evening. Just after 5-p.m., they were called to the Pizza Ranch in the Atlantic Shopping Plaza for a reported grease fire. Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees said a broaster in the kitchen caught fire after a drain apparently didn’t connect after being cleaned and replaced, while the broaster was in operation.

McNees said the grease apparently flowed out by the burner and caught the inside on fire. The restaurant was quickly evacuated and the fire knocked down using a new product the fire department uses, called F-500, which can be used on a variety of fires and renders a fuel non-flammable or ignitable. The building was ventilated and the restaurant closed for the night until cleanup and repairs could be made.Firefighters were on the scene for about 25 minutes.

Not long after they left, Atlantic and Marne Fire were called to a field fire near a combine west of town near 59504 Marne Road (The Scott Robinson farm). Fire fighters were on the scene for about 40-minutes.

Photo courtesy Cass County Emergency Mgmt. Coordinator Mike Kennon