Cause of Dallas Fire Probed

Fire investigators were combing through the rubble June 22nd as they searched for clues to the origin of a fire that destroyed a historic piece of Lower Greenville, said writer Paul Meyer.

The blaze that ignited about 4 p.m. June 21st quickly grew to six alarms, devouring the landmark Arcadia Theater along with several restaurants.

Dallas Fire-Rescue Lt. Joel Lavender said crews remained at the scene the next day snuffing out hotspots and investigating how the blaze began, according to Meyer.

“Hopefully we will have some kind of conclusion in the next two or three days,” said Lavender in a recent interview.

Unable to enter the burning buildings during the fire, about 120 firefighters tried to contain the damage into the night, writes Meyer. Homeowners watered their roofs with hoses, wrote Meyer.

Smoke from the blaze could be seen from as far away as Forest Lane and Central Expressway, according to reports.

The Arcadia Theater opened in 1927 as a combination movie house and vaudeville theater, according to records.

“The more I think about it, the more it seems like the end of an era in Dallas,” local business owner John Gasperik told Meyer.

Fire officials estimated damage to the businesses at $1.6 million, according to a recent article.

“It’s a total loss for the whole strip,” Dallas Fire-Rescue spokeswoman Annette Ponce told reporters.

No injuries were reported, said writer Holly Yan.

The Arcadia Theater boasted the first and only Vitaphone sound equipment in Dallas, according to the article.

Gasperik lives at the Shake Rag Music Store directly behind the Arcadia. When he noticed the fire yards away, the 52-year-old grabbed his garden hose and started dousing his roof, yard, wooden fence, he said.

Flaming debris flew into his yard, wrote Yan.