Kwan Yin Fire Not Suspicious, Official Says

A morning fire which destroyed the in Wentzville is not being considered suspicious at this time, according to .

The owner of the restaurant, Steve Lim, was alerted by a burglar alarm at the restaurant at 6:17 this morning. He was the first on the scene, Watkins said, followed by .

"We got called at 6:27 . . . Judging by the volume of fire, all I can tell you is that there was a big fire when we got here, and that fire needed some time to grow. I have nothing to indicate it was anything but just a fire at this point," Watkins said.

Watkins said that the burglar alarm may have been triggered by the fire, such as by a window blown out from the intense heat.

The first firefighters on the scene saw flames in the southwest corner of the building in a dining area, the but the entire building was fully engulfed in minutes, with the heaviest part of the fire in the dining area. No one was in the building at the time.

More than 65 firefighters from a dozen departments responded to the 4-alarm fire.

Once the fire was under control, Watkins said, they would bring in a trackhoe to tear off the front of the building and coat the rear of the building in a foam blanket before beginning an investigation into the cause. Six large air-conditioning units on the roof collapsed into the dining area and hampered firefighters' efforts.

Because the fire represented such a significant loss, police would assist in the investigation, Watkins said.

According to its Facebook page, the Wentzville restaurant has been family owned and operated since 1972.