There will be no happy hour for Trav's Roadhouse regulars for a while after a five-alarm blaze destroyed the 30-year-old establishment.
Investigators are working through the rain to try to pinpoint how this fire started. They've got their work cut out for them. Part of the metal roof collapsed and everything underneath it is wet wood and electrical wire.
Investigators say the fire started at the bar around 11pm Tuesday with at least a half dozen employees and patrons inside. People tried to put out the flames with fire extinguishers but it grew too fast. Everyone inside made it out safely.
Five fire crews used 10,000 gallons of water to hush the flames. They had to shuttle in water from the nearest hydrant a mile away. It took them five to six hours to get the fire under control.
"Well, I couldn't believe it. I really just couldn't believe it. It just doesn't seem possible," said bar owner Joann Watkins. "It was in good shape to be so old. It had a brand new roof on it."
Now investigators are looking through the remainder of the building piece by piece to find exactly where and how this started.
"I have four investigators working on it right now," said Fort Bend County chief arson investigator Robert Baker. "We're in the process of interviewing people to see what happened, because there were patrons in the bar."
Arson investigators say they're starting at one end of the building and working their way through, looking at everything that could be a factor, including electrical wiring. They plan to move the metal roof that has partially collapsed.
