Tom & Jerry’s restaurant, a Sycamore staple that’s fed families for more than 50 years, was devastated by an early morning fire Saturday.

It’s not yet known what caused the fire, Sycamore Fire Chief Bart Gilmore said.

One firefighter was taken to the hospital during the response, Gilmore said. He said the firefighter suffered a “relatively minor injury,” that wasn’t related to weather.

Tom & Jerry’s General Manager Sarah Meyer said no one associated with the restaurant was hurt in the fire.

“We were closed, there was no one in the building, everyone is safe,” Meyer said.

She said they’ve lost a place they called home, however.

“We are just absolutely heartbroken. This is more than a restaurant to us. This is our home,” Meyer said. “It’s our home that we welcome our community into, and we are just absolutely devastated. And it just feels like a nightmare at this point.”

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Windows were destroyed and the building was damaged at Tom & Jerry's in Sycamore on early Saturday morning (John Sahly)

Crews were called to the restaurant, 1670 DeKalb Ave., about 4 a.m. Saturday.

Firefighters fought the blaze for hours in the cold. Despite a multi-agency effort, the fire severely damaged the building. The roof collapsed, Gilmore said. The building isn’t safe to return to and will need to be torn down.

Some crews were still on the scene at about 8 a.m. Saturday. Investigators remained for hours after, Gilmore said.

Officials estimate that the building sustained $1.5 million worth of damage, according to a Sycamore Fire Department news release.

Catering by Diann, which operated out of the same building, was also impacted by the fire.

Gilmore and Meyer said they didn’t know what caused the fire. Meyer said an alarm company called Tom & Jerry’s management team on Saturday morning after an alarm was triggered at about 3:45 a.m.

By the time Tom & Jerry’s workers were on site, firefighters were working the structure fire, Meyer said.

Meyer said the management team was waiting for insurance to assess the situation, and wasn’t yet aware of a way the community can support the workers of Tom & Jerry’s who have been impacted by the fire. The community’s reaction to the fire has had an emotional impact, though.

“Between text messages and calls, and social media outreach, we are so overwhelmed and grateful for all of the love and support we’ve felt,” Meyer said.

Firefighters from DeKalb, Genoa-Kingston Fire and Rescue, Cortland, Hampshire, Kirkland, Burlington, Batavia, Elburn, Waterman, Shabbona, Huntley and Pingree Grove also came to aid the response.

Sycamore Police Department and the city’s public works department responded to the fire as well, according to the news release.

Firefighters entered the building when responding to the fire, but were forced to exit after dealing with high heat, heavy smoke and concerns about the structure’s stability, according to the news release.

Gilmore described the flames that charred the restaurant as persistent.

“It took a little bit of time to really knock the flames down, and a lot of that was some of the flames was underneath the roof that had collapsed,” Gilmore said.

Freezing weather conditions on Saturday morning posed challenges to firefighting. Gilmore said that at one point, a hose nozzle was frozen while the fire was still burning. It was about 11 degrees in Sycamore when the fire broke out, according to the National Weather Service.

A nearby business helped the first responders warm up and stay fed while the fire was fought. Gilmore said the McDonald’s next door to Tom & Jerry’s opened as a warming center for firefighters.

“We were able to feed the firefighters,” Gilmore said. “Shoutout to McDonald’s.”

Check back for updates.