Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 3, 1993 TAG: 9305030116
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARY BISHOP STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The fire inside the restaurant was so hot, firefighters worked five hours to put it out.
Owner Ray Hatcher and his two daughters were asleep above the restaurant on U.S. 221 about 9 a.m. when a motorist noticed smoke downstairs, said county rescue squad Capt. Ford Wirt.
The woman roused the family, and they escaped safely through a separate entrance. The restaurant is about two miles north of the town of Floyd.
"As Ray said today, they usually sleep late on Sundays," Wirt said of Ray's, which has live bands Saturday nights. "It could have been a tragedy."
Two firefighters were overcome by smoke, but Tony Weddle, chief of the Willis fire station, said they recovered at the scene. There were no injuries.
Wirt said electrical trouble appeared to be the fire's cause. Five county fire trucks and an aerial truck from Christiansburg were used at the fire. Roanoke County sent a truck to resupply air bottles on firefighters' backpacks.
False ceilings and other tucked-away spaces made it a hard fire to fight, Weddle said. Many additions had been built onto the old building over the years.
It was so hot inside the building, Weddle said, "It was difficult to get to the fire to get it out."
Wirt said the fire may have been burning awhile before anyone noticed smoke.
Ray's was a Floyd County favorite.
Hatcher's father started it, according to Weddle and Wirt. "It's been there for years and years," Weddle said.
"Had the best hamburgers," said Wirt. "We called them Hatcher Burgers."
The Hatcher family had buffets several nights a week, did catering and had take-out service.
They put on special nights for people and causes, like the time two years ago they organized an evening to raise medical expenses for a motorcycle rider with cancer.
Around Christmas last year, Ray's shut down on a Saturday night for a dinner recognizing county fire and rescue workers.
Wirt said he'd have to go see Ray Hatcher today. He was supposed to cater a rescue squad function in a couple of weeks.
by CNB