An early-morning blaze on Sunday (Dec. 4) destroyed a historic Imperial building that once housed the tavern, Sally’s Place.
A man who lived in the building escaped out the back of the building without injury, said Ron Harder, a spokesman for the Rock Community Fire Protection District.
The building, at 4923 Old Lemay Ferry Road, didn’t have a chance, Harder said, calling it “a total loss.”
“It was old ‘balloon’ construction, which means there are no fire stops between the walls,” he said.
The structure, first built in 1911, served as a home, a grocery store, a gas station and a tavern over the last 105 years.
When firefighters arrived on the scene at about 2 a.m., they found “very heavy acrid smoke” coming from the building, Harder said.
Because the building’s only occupant had escaped, firefighters were instructed to fight the fire from the exterior of the structure. The decision was the right one, Harder said.
“In an old building like that, there are special dangers,” he said.
Shortly after firefighters arrived, the blaze “flashed over,” bursting violently into flame, Harder said.
“Battalion Chief Al Zimmerman (who was in command of the crews) did a great, great job,” Harder said.
The fire went to three alarms, he said.
Firefighters fought the fire defensively, using a method called “surround and drown,” pouring massive amounts of water on the fire. The fire was under control in about an hour, Harder said.
Originally built by Frank and Henrietta Schwalbert, the family had a store in the front of the building and living quarters in the back. The building also included a tavern. After children came along, the couple built a second story on the building. Frank Schwalbert called it Breezy Heights.
“It was at the top of a hill, and it was breezy up there,” granddaughter Carol Riebold of High Ridge said earlier this year in an interview about the history of the home.
The building was later sold to the Schwalberts’ daughter, Alma, and her husband, Harold Paul, and finally sold to a cousin, Sally (Schwalbert) Harry, in 1980 and served as a tavern until 2010, when her son, Robert Harry, closed the business the year after his mother’s death.
Harder said Monday morning (Dec. 5) that the cause of the fire was still under investigation
He said firefighters were on the scene for about three hours.
Firefighters from the Saline Valley, Antonia and Mehlville fire protection districts assisted with the call, as did personnel from the Rock Township Ambulance District.
Harder said all those crews did a great job.