On Saturday, March 7, 2026, at approximately 1:43 a.m., police responded to the Rucci’s located at 22685 Washington Street in Leonardtown, for the automated motion detection alarm.
Deputies arrived on the scene at 2:09 a.m., to find nothing evident and waited for a keyholder to arrive on the scene to access the interior of the building.
Upon the keyholder arriving on scene at approximately 2:25 a.m., the keyholder and Deputies made entry to find smoke and fire showing from the kitchen.
Firefighters from Leonardtown, Bay District, Hollywood, Second District and Seventh District were quickly dispatched, with over 25 firefighters responding.
Leonardtown VFD Engine 10, Truck 1 and Hollywood VFD Truck 7 arrived within minutes to confirm a 1-story commercial building with an active fire in the kitchen.
Crews quickly extinguished a deep fryer fire, and began checking for extensions.
The fire was confined to the kitchen.
No injuries were reported. Firefighters operated on the scene for 45 minutes before returning the building over to the owner.
Rucci’s posted the following statement today. They are open as usual!
“Late last night, we experienced a minor kitchen fire at Rucci’s Italian Kitchen, Leonardtown. Thanks to the quick response from our team and the Leonardtown Volunteer Fire Department, the situation was handled immediately and everyone is safe.
We will open as usual at 11AM today, 3/7! We truly appreciate the concern and support from our amazing community!”
