| The interior ceiling fell down on the bar during the fire. |
There was a fire in the Chick’s Rock’n Roost bar in Castle Dale in the early morning hours of April 12 at 3:50 a.m. A Castle Dale resident called in the fire to the sheriff’s office from a home across the highway from Chicks.
Fire departments from Castle Dale, Orangeville, Ferron and Huntington responded to the blaze which was contained in a short time.
The building front was constructed of barn wood over a sheet metal frame. There was also a wooden porch with large planks that was destroyed in the fire.
The entire front of the building will have to be replaced. There was much damage inside the building with the bar itself sustaining fire damage. Part of the ceiling was destroyed, but the roof remained in tact.
Several furnishings within the bar were a loss including the new bar stools, mirrors and sevitems throughout the building.Several televisions and a juke box were also listed among the losses.
The deputy state fire marshal, Troy Mills from Springville was on the scene that morning to determine the cause of fire. He said he could not clearly determine the cause of the fire, but it will be listed as accidental.
Observers on the scene speculated the fire was probably electrical in nature as it burned more severely the area where a lighted Budweiser sign hung in the window. Although this sign is unplugged each night, so an exact starting point of the fire can’t be substantiated.
The building will be boarded up and secured for now. It is unknown whether the owner, Charlie Oman, who is in failing health, will rebuild the business or not.
The bar has been in its present location for 16 years now. The previous location was known as Kelly’s and was downtown in Castle Dale.
The bar employed six people who are now without a job, five full-time and one part-time employee. The part-time maintenance employee said the last thing they do each night is empty all the ashtrays into a metal bucket for safety purposes. He is willing to get started mucking the building out and salvaging what wasn’t lost in the fire; just as soon as Charlie gives the word.