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Show FIRE RAZES INTERIOR OF B & J CLUB; HUGHES STYLE SHOPPE DAMAGED Fire ate its way through a beer tavern here Saturday morning and sent heavy clouds of smoke into two adjacent buildings, doing damage estimated in excess of $40,000. Apparently the fire started at the B & J Club from wiring wir-ing leading to a coffee urn. The club's interior was com- j pletely destroyed. Heavy smoke and water damage to clothing cloth-ing at Hughes Style & Floral Shoppe also resulted, and the Firmage Theatre suffered some smoke damage. R. H. (Babe) Ruth, owner of the B & J, said most of his estimated es-timated $17,000 to $20,000 loss would be covered by insurance. Mrs. J. M. Hughes, proprietor of the Style Shop, estimated her merchandise loss at approximately approximate-ly $20,000, but expected a net loss after insurance payments in the neighborhood of $5,000. Smoke choked the interior of the B & J when the alarm was turned in about 8:30 a. m., and was billowing from the air conditioner con-ditioner on the roof. The heavy smoke, and inadequacy of ' the oxygen masks of the volunteer fire department, hampered the firemen in their work. One fireman was overcome by smoke but did not require hospitalization. A quantity of small arms ammunition am-munition was removed from the B & J storeroom before it exploded. ex-ploded. City Marshal Melvin Tait and LuDean Barnes, re-entering the building after a "breather," were knocked backwards but uninjured when the picture tube of a television tele-vision set exploded, shattering the front windows of the club. About 30 volunteers were engaged en-gaged in fire fighting during the blaze, which took about 90 minutes min-utes to extinguish. |