Hickory House on Park Road in Waterloo is one of the many beloved restaurants in the Cedar Valley. After a fire set the building ablaze at 9 AM on Sunday morning, one of the city's oldest eateries is no more.

Waterloo Fire Chief Pat Treloar told KWWL that the fire department isn't positive as to what caused the initial burn:

We're not sure what occurred yet. We do know there was a smell of gas. We do know there was an explosion.

The fire chief added that the building is a total loss, and it will not be able to be recovered despite the fact that a decent amount of the structure still standing. The roof of the restaurant did cave in.

Witnesses at the scene of the flame also told KWWL that they saw an individual drive a vehicle into the building's gas meter and the person proceeded to drive away from the scene.

Treloar continued, detailing what they do know happened to the Waterloo-based news station:

Our first crew smelled gas and there was an explosion with crews on the scene.

He added that one of the firefighters did suffer an injury during the blast, but nothing significant:

We did have one crew member get blown back when the explosion occurred. He has an injured leg but is still on scene and is doing fine.

Hickory House opened in 1952, and the owners, Dave and Karen Lutricia and son Tim Chilcote, celebrated the restaurant's 70th anniversary last Monday night.

No other injuries were reported from the scene.

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