Update 10:09 a.m.:

A fire that destroyed a popular local restaurant likely started in the kitchen, but a State Fire Marshal will be brought into determine the exact cause at the start of the coming week, according to Polk County Public Safety Director Randy Lacey.

Lacey said the call that came in around 1 a.m. this morning was initially just one alarm, but then several alarms and the burglar alarm at Pizza Farm on Knox Mountain Road went off and brought more people out to the scene. When the first responding firefighters and officers arrived at the restaurant, flames and smoke were not visible.

Once the doors were open, they found the source of the alarm and began battling flames within, Lacey said.

“They got into the back of the building where a heavy fire and smoke was found in the kitchen area,” Lacey said. “The intense heat forced firefighters to pull back.”

He said a captain on the scene heard fire in the roof, and pulled men out of the restaurant before the ceiling collapsed into the interior of the building.

Firefighters spent all of the early morning hours battling the blaze, required to use tanker trucks in a rotating shuttle to provide water at the scene due to a lack of adequate supply. Lacey said that a hydrant was nearby, but that it didn’t provide enough water pressure to fight the fire at Pizza Farm.

“We had to use all means available to get water,” he said.

He also said that a lack of volunteer manpower in Polk County’s department also didn’t help operations either, along with the construction and layout of the restaurant with metal roofing and additions over the years that presented issues overnight. He didn’t call the building a total loss, but the roof collapse will likely make it so. He did say exterior walls remained standing.

Three firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion at the scene, Lacey confirmed. Two of those were part of a group that first responded to the fire, and a third had joined the battle later.

“It was a long sad night,” he said. “They made every effort they could to stop it.”

Previously posted 8:33 a.m.:

A fire that broke out around 1 a.m. on Saturday morning has completely gutted a popular eatery in the Rockmart area.

The first call went out to firefighters for a response at 12:50 a.m. on Saturday morning, according to Rockmart Fire and Rescue’s Chief Todd Queen.

Queen said even though the restaurant lies in the county and not in the Rockmart city limits, his firefights automatically rendered aid alongside the Polk County Volunteer Fire Department.

The fire was bad enough that when officials first arrived and began battling the blaze, firefighters were forced back from an attack to defensive work to spray down the flame. Three firefighters were treated on the scene for heat and physical exhaustion, Queen added.

No cause was yet available, and operations were still ongoing this morning with additional officials unavailable for immediate comment.

Pizza Farm, in business for the past 48+ years, was completely gutted by the fire.

Check back for more information as it becomes available.

Previously posted:

A overnight structure fire has been reported at the Pizza Farm in Rockmart, with local firefighters responding to the scene.

Both Polk County Public Safety Director Randy Lacey and Rockmart Police Chief Randy Turner have reported that local fire and rescue units including a ladder truck have been called out to the scene at restaurant located at 784 Knox Mountain Road.

More information has been requested from Rockmart Fire Chief Todd Queen about the incident, but was not yet available at this late hour.

Pizza Farm, a popular spot not just for pizza but a variety of American and Italian-style cuisine, first opened its doors in 1972.

The extent of the damage to the restaurant is yet unknown. Check back for additional details as they become available later this morning.