Redmond restaurant fire may be arson

REDMOND, Wash. — Firefighters think an arsonist may be to blame for an overnight fire at an Eastside restaurant.

Investigators are at the Celtic Bayou restaurant in Redmond Thursday morning.

Someone who was walking by the restaurant at about 1 a.m. saw flames inside and called 911. The restaurant’s alarm company also notified the fire department when sprinklers inside went off.

There is not yet an official cause for the fire, but the Redmond Fire Department battalion chief said it could be arson.

One of the reasons that the fire is suspicious is because the flames appeared have started just inside the front door to the restaurant.

Firefighters said had it not been for the sprinkler system, the fire damage would be been far worse.

“The fire itself though was held in check by the sprinklers and probably would have been a much more significant fire if it hadn't been for the sprinkler system activation,” Ralph Ashmore with the Redmond Fire Department said.

Most of damage at the restaurant is from water.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Cox Media Group