Mount Erica Hotel: Kitchen fire breaks out at High St Prahran venue

Staff and diners have been forced to flee from a hotel built in the 1850s after a fire broke out in the kitchen.

A fire broke out at the Mt Erica Hotel in Prahran on Monday, July 5. Picture: Mount Erica Hotel website.

Staff and diners have been forced to flee from a 168-year-old Prahran hotel a kitchen fire broke out during lunch service.

Emergency services rushed to the Mount Erica Hotel on High St, Prahran after the fire broke out at 1.05pm and spread to the hotel’s roof space.

Ten Fire Rescue Victoria crews including 24 firefighters and aerial units rushed to battle the blaze and evacuated 30 diners and staff to the hotel’s staging area.

The fire was declared under control within 40 minutes at 1.45pm.

No one was injured in the fire and police remain at the scene.

The hotel opened in 1853 and was one of the first licensed venues in the area according to the Stonnington History Centre.

Manager Scott Glover told Leader the fire caused minor damage to the roof and kitchen on the hotel’s ground level, with its second level unaffected.

Mr Glover said he was thankful staff and diners were able to escape unharmed.

“Something might have happened in the kitchen, but we’re trying to get to the bottom of that,” he said.

“We had a restaurant full of patrons and staff, they’re all fine … the firefighters did their job very well and responded quickly.”

Mr Glover said he expected the pub to be closed for “about a week, potentially longer” following the fire.

“We’ll see how the experts assess the damage,” he said.

“It’s disappointing, we were operating well until this little incident, but we’ll be back again.

“No one was injured and that’s our primary concern.”

The fire is at least the second to break out at the hotel in its long history, after it was originally destroyed and later rebuilt in 1877.

It received attention in early 2017 when its then-landlords were forced out for not paying rent, six months after the venue relaunched.