Fire struck the Thirty 3 Bar & Grill in Festus Sunday night (April 12), but city Fire Chief Chuck Boyer said firefighters responded quickly, despite just returning to their station from a blaze in another town, which helped minimize the damage.
The Festus Fire Department got a call at 10:13 p.m. about the fire at 42 E. Main St. The establishment was closed and no one was inside, Boyer said.
“We had two paid people and a volunteer at the station when we got the call,” he reported today (April 13). “That helped with the quick response. They hadn’t been back 10 minutes from assisting the city of De Soto Fire Department with a house fire when they got the call and got to the fire in about a minute and a half. They arrived on scene and saw smoke on the roof.”
He said the fire “looked worse than it was” and firefighters soon prevented it from spreading to neighboring businesses.
“It was an electrical fire coming through the ceiling,” he said. “It burned up a corner of the building up at the roof. It was all contained to the bar. The building is reparable.”
Boyer said firefighters remained on scene until around 12:45 a.m. today.
Even with the limited damage, the business will remain closed until the building passes inspection, he said.
“They will have to do repairs first before reopening – repair the electrical,” he said.
Crystal City, Jefferson R-7, Hematite, Dunklin, Herculaneum and Mapaville fire departments and districts assisted Festus Fire with the call.