‘We walked in and instantly we smelt the smoke’ — Customers escape McDonald’s collapse

Customers safely escaped before a McDonald's collapsed. A McDonald’s restaurant in Lebanon, Missouri, was destroyed by a fire Saturday, officials told KYTV.

Fire response and evacuations

Customers and staff were told to evacuate as smoke filled the restaurant’s lobby.

Annesley Tidwell, who was inside with her grandmother, told KYTV the damage was extensive.

“The walls and all that, like the ceiling and everything just collapsed,” Tidwell told KYTV.

Tidwell told KYTV she and her grandmother noticed smoke when they entered the restaurant but were told it would likely be OK.

“We walked in and instantly we smelt the smoke and we just went up to order our food and we asked if it was OK and stuff and the lady said it was probably going to be OK, so we didn't think anything of it,” she told KYTV.

Tidwell also told KYTV she saw a helicopter flying above the scene. “There was like a helicopter flying around,” she told KYTV.

She told KYTV she felt sad for the restaurant’s owner because it had been a gathering place for people in the community.