25/May/2013 – Structure Fire – “B” Shift

Incident # 13-02783 – A fire at the Plum Crazy Bar forced the evacuation of several hundred patrons Saturday morning 25-May at 01:27. An unknown subject set the wooden exterior sheeting of the building located at 3258 Jefferies Highway on fire. The bar was packed with people. Fire-Rescue units arrived minutes later to find light smoke coming from the eaves on two sections of the building. A Security Guard had doused the flames on the outside of the building with a garden hose prior to the arrival of fire units. Sheriff’s Deputies assisted with clearing the crowd. As with most bars, the interior of the building was already filled with smoke from cigarettes and other smoking paraphernalia. Two crews of Firefighters searched the interior of the building, while another crew laddered the building to inspect the roof. Several inspection holes were made in the ceiling and some walls in attempts to locate the source of the smoke. Roof crews eventually removed several sections of the metal roof, only to find another roof below the one where they were working. 

The older building had been added on too and modified several times over the years. After some time, it was discovered a portion of the exterior of the building had been covered with wood siding. This concealed two exterior bathrooms which were not accessible from the interior of the building. Investigators determined the fire on the outside of the building had burned some of the support boards, producing the smoke which entered from the concealed bathrooms. The smoke traveled into the attic, spreading above the entire occupied space. The fire had been stopped earlier and only smoldering boards remained. No one was injured in the incident. Firefighters replaced the metal roof sections and covered the area with plastic. The Sheriff’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire. Units were on the scene for two hours.

Engine 1, Engine 26, Tender 1, Tender 5, Tender 19, Tender 26, Tender 27, Medic 19, Battalion 1, Car 12 and Car 118 responded. Battalion Chief Brent Dalton served as Incident Commander.