A fire broke out in one of the buildings early this morning, completely destroying part of a historic building on the Old McMurray Campus.
The Jacksonville Fire Department and South Jacksonville Fire Department were called to Cured Catering, located inside the former McClelland Dining Hall at 438 East College Avenue, for a structure fire just before 5 this morning.
Jacksonville Fire Chief Matt Leischner said the east side of the building was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. “When we pulled up there was fire coming out of the roof in the middle of the building.”
“We entered through this [area] “It was a door and they had turned it into a window. We broke through the window and started the attack in the middle to keep the fire on the east side so it didn't spread into the dining room.”
Reichner said no one was injured and that the dining hall will likely be salvageable, but the kitchen area was completely destroyed and will likely need to be rebuilt. Firefighting efforts caused heavy smoke and water damage to the dining hall, but the fire did not reach the dining hall itself.
At one point, soundproofing foam in the hall's ceiling began to smolder and workers had to drench the area with water to prevent further ignition, Leischner said.
Leishner said an initial investigation has not revealed any suspicious cause for the fire, but because it is a commercial loss, he has requested assistance from the Illinois State Fire Marshal's Office in determining the cause.
The historic dining hall was built in 1929 and served as McMurray College’s main kitchen and cafeteria until it closed in May 2020, with many additions made to the kitchen side over the years.
The hall was later purchased by local developer Mike Hayes and became the home of Cured Catering. Cured Catering owners Brian and Melissa Riley said they were catering an event last night and the last employees closed up shop and left around 10:15 p.m.
The couple are thankful that no one was injured and are in the process of contacting wedding guests who had booked the hall for receptions this summer. They also have begun reaching out to other organizations to find alternative locations for such events and kitchen space. Cured Catering has used McClelland Dining Hall as its only operational kitchen for many years.
The fire completely engulfed the kitchen area of the building, causing the roof to collapse into the building. No damage estimate was available at press time, but officials said the kitchen area was completely destroyed.
