Restaurant Meridian, ID – Sprinkler systems assists firefighters in extinguishing kitchen fire at entertainment venue March 9, 2019 viking210 A kitchen grease fire caused some damage at Big Al’s Meridian Wednesday, but the restaurant and entertainment venue was able to open Thursday. Meridian Fire responded at about 11:30 p.m. Fire Chief Mark Niemeyer said the fire was extinguished within five minutes. There was minimal smoke damage from the fire and a sprinkler activated, he said. Kelly O’Callaghan, Big Al’s general manager, said staff think a piece of equipment might have malfunctioned causing the fire, but they’re not sure. An employee noticed the fire after kitchen staff had cleaned up and gone home. O’Callaghan said Big Al’s is open and serving food from its snack bar. He said they plan to have the main kitchen back up and running by Saturday.