An early-morning fire destroyed a bar in Sugar Grove on Monday.
Laura Stewart, manager of TNT's On the Hill and daughter of the owners, said the cause of the fire was undetermined.
"The fire was so hot, they couldn't figure out where the origin was," Stewart said. "At this point, the business is defunct, of course. It was just unsalvageable."
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Times Observer photo by Colin Kyler
Destroyed
TNT’s On the Hill was destroyed during an early-morning fire on Monday.
From what the fire marshal told Stewart, a driver passed the structure on Rt. 957 at 1 a.m. After seeing flames on the roof, he called it in.
By 1:30 a.m., the first firefighters arrived. All units were on scene by 2:30 a.m., Stewart said, but there was nothing they could do but contain the fire.
Firefighters remained at the fire until 6 a.m. Luckily, Stewart said, nobody had been at the building when the fire started.
Gene Falconer, Sugar Grove Volunteer Fire Department chief, told Stewart he was unaware of any injuries. In addition to Sugar Grove, volunteer firefighters from Busti and Panama, N.Y., as well as Youngsville, Lander and Bear Lake responded.
Right now, plans are to clean up the remains. That will take a great deal of time, Stewart said, but the family is not sure what will happen after that.
Many of the establishment's friends have come forward, Stewart said, and are willing to help out in any way they can.
By having people help, Stewart said, it means a lot to her parents, Beverly and Bill Burrows. Those who know them refer to them affectionately as "Mama" and "Papa," she said.
"I'd like to thank all the people who were patrons at the place," Stewart said. "Everyone has such wonderful memories."