Morley McDonald's: Firefighters battling blaze at fast food restaurant

Firefighters are battling a blaze at Morley McDonald's that started this afternoon.

Emergency crews rushed to the scene at the fast food restaurant on Walter Road, in Perth’s north after a staff member alerted authorities.

DFES WA confirmed the fire started outside in a storage area at the rear of the building, likely in a bin.

The fire at the rear was extinguished shortly before 4pm, however the blaze made its way to the roof.

Inside, a DFES spokesperson said the ceiling was damaged, which has affected some of its structure.

They said investigators were on their way to figure out the cause of the fire.

Flames could be seen from a photo taken outside of the drive through, with thick black smoke rising from the building.

It is understood staff and customers were evacuated and the car park has been closed off.

Walter Road West was closed as firefighters in cranes and respirators tackle the blaze.

More than six fire trucks are at the scene and police are directing traffic.

Morley resident Carl Di Lorenzo said he saw smoke coming over his house and decided to have a look.

He said he saw smoke billowing out of the drive-through and the workers out on the lawn, visibly distraught.

One of the workers, who he described as a teenager, was holding a fire extinguisher and was out directing traffic.

“They were distraught, sad as you can imagine. They were shaken, visibly upset. They were all young, teenagers,” he said.

“There was a young kid from McDonald's with a fire extinguisher doing a good job. He obviously tried to give it a shot at the start, he was helping to direct traffic at the start.”

Keith Schulstad was in his truck nearby when he said he heard a bang and walked over to find out what happened.

“I saw the black smoke from my house. It was coming from the drive through and out of the roof,” he said.

Nathan Watterston also saw the smoke from his home and walked over.

“I heard a heap of sirens and though what’s going on, so I jumped on the DFES website and sure enough there was a structure fire, so I thought I’d have a look.

“Came here and this building there was just black smoke coming out everywhere,” he said.