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YNOT’S DESTROYED BY BLAZE

By Wes Clement/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Tuesday, November 3, 2009 11:52 PM CST

A rainbow arched across a misty Second Avenue Tuesday morning as firefighters worked to contain a fire that essentially destroyed Ynot Charlie’s Restaurant.

Pine Bluff fire fighters battle the fire from the rooftop on Ynot Charlie's restaurant Tuesday morning in downtown Pine Bluff. Pine Bluff Commercial/Ralph Fitzgerald

The Pine Bluff Fire and Emergency Services Department received an alarm at 6:22 a.m. and a short time later the operators of two ladder trucks fought the fire from above.

Lt. Shauwn Howell, public information officer for the fire department, said the fire was especially difficult to fight since it seemed the old building’s layered roof had buckled in the center and collapsed.

“That’s probably the worst case in fire fighting, because it takes so long to put it out,” Howell said. “The fire gets into the space between the double roof, and since it’s collapsed, the water from above just rolls down the roof.”

There were many firefighters working at ground level also. The restaurant, located at 124 S. Main St., was believed to be vacant when the fire began.

“It’s pretty much a total loss,” Howell said of the building.

As the workday began, employees of nearby downtown businesses gathered to watch the fire.

On the north side of the building Ynot’s proprietor Tony Dowd and Jimmy Dill, the owner of the adjoined Pine Bluff Title Company building, watched as firefighters tried to prevent the fire from spreading to the title company.

“That’s what it looks like ... totaled,” Dowd said. “It would have been 10 years old Nov. 16.”

He said he did not know if Ynot’s would continue operating in the future at another location. He told a reporter later in the day he did intend to continue the business.

Howell said the cause of the fire has not been determined and an investigation was being conducted.

“This impacts our community economically not only for the owner but for the people who work here,” said Ted Davis, assistant to Pine Bluff Mayor Carl A. Redus Jr. “Our guys (firefighters) have done a real professional job this morning.”

The fire department was still on the scene Tuesday evening to ensure the fire did not restart.

“We want to make sure fire is not hidden in the walls or other areas so we’re just staying on the scene and going through it carefully,” Howell said.

Neither Port City Graphics or Moss Burks Moss and Co. to the west of Ynot’s or Pine Bluff Title Company to the east received actual fire damage, though smoke and water damage are possible.

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