Fire Destroys Historic Building

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October 19th, 2022

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

A fire on September 21st destroyed a vacant, historic building in downtown Shreveport, Louisiana. A total of 32 fire units responded to the scene. Within 30-minutes of fire department arrival, the building began collapsing. After the intense blaze, all that remained of the building was a pile of charred bricks.

Fire destroys historic building in Shreveport, Louisiana, causing it to collapse.

As the flames spread, the old Chicago nightclub next door also sustained heavy fire damage. Fire crews continued to put out hot spots through the night. Officials say they had to work in defensive mode. Water was sprayed onto the roofs of the Sand Bar and Chicago nightclub to prevent the flames from spreading.

The 100 plus year-old building has been many things over the years. It was the old 99 Bar back in the 1950s, John’s Jeans in the 70s and it was the Sportspage Club and Humpfrees back in the 80s and 90s.The building was in the once vibrant Shreve Square, with many clubs and theaters.

A picture of the vacant building's prior occupancy: Humpfrees.

“This is a huge loss. We hate to lose historic buildings … because you don’t get to do a do-over on this building. So, it’s devastating to all of us. It’s devastating to our community and to our downtown,” said Liz Swaine, Downtown Development Authority executive director.

The day after the fire, Commissioner Steven Jackson released a statement about the incident: “On (September 21, 2022) many of us watched with disbelief and sadness 114 Texas in downtown Shreveport went up in flames. For many months, a group of developers, real estate professionals, and elected officials have worked to secure significant financial resources to rehabilitate the oldest remaining building in downtown Shreveport.”

Location of the historic building is shown prior to the fire.

When a facility is idle there is an increased likelihood of a fire occurring, making it imperative that sprinkler systems, and their associated alarms, are left active. Risk Logic engineers can inspect your facilities to help ensure the fire protection and suppression systems are in good working order. Our impairment management program offers a 24/7 service to handle all fire protection equipment impairments. Contact Risk Logic to determine where you are at risk, or to develop additional loss prevention advice specific to your facility.