Tucson firefighters battled a structure fire at the former Bum Steer restaurant and bar for about three hours on Saturday afternoon, officials said.
Tucson Fire Department responded to 911 calls for a building fire at 1:50 p.m., and fought the fire from above. It was too dangerous to fight the fire inside, said Barrett Baker, department spokesman.
It took more than 40 firefighters, including three ladder-truck units, to get the blaze under control shortly at about 4:45 p.m.
Ladder units had a difficult time accessing void spaces and flames in the attic area of the multi-level building, and were fighting a βdifficult fire load,β a department spokesman said in a tweet.
Tucson police shut down Stone Avenue in both directions between East Ventura and East Lester streets for much of the afternoon and evening.
Bum Steer, 1910 N. Stone Ave., has been closed for several years.
It was a popular spot for college students and rowdy crowds listening to loud music and shooting pool during the 1980s and 1990s and as a hip-hop hot spot into the early 2000s. A checkered stretch followed, which included closings and reopenings, running foul of its liquor license and a 2005 shooting that left 29-year-old man dead .
It was sold at auction for $198,000 in August 2014, according to Star archives.
The cause and origin of the fire are under investigation.
