RUSTON, Wash. (AP) -- A veteran firefighter bought a landmark blues joint, spent a couple of months fixing it up and banned smoking inside, only to see it ruined by a fire blamed on smoldering cigarette butts.
Monaghan's Blues Bar and Grill, formerly Cole's Oasis, was among the businesses and second-floor apartments that were lost as flames tore through two century-old buildings early Sunday in this Tacoma suburb.
``I was just glad no one got hurt,'' owner Hollis Monaghan said Monday. ``The rest was just stuff.''
On Monday police reported the arrest of a 44-year-old apartment resident who, they said, emptied his ashtrays into plastic garbage bags where they apparently smoldered and ignited the blaze.
Drugs, drug paraphernalia, credit cards, receipts, throwing knives, ledgers and scales also were found in the apartment, and investigators were trying to determine whether the man was involved in identity theft, Police Chief Jim Reinhold said.
The man was booked into the Pierce County Jail for investigation of drug possession with intent to deliver, reckless endangerment, possession of stolen property and identity theft, police said.
Monaghan, a longtime Renton firefighter, bought the bar from the family of Anton ``Dave'' Pelton of Tacoma, who ran the place for several years ``Cole's Oasis'' before he died in a car accident in March.
Monaghan, who also owned an adjacent tavern and three apartments in the same building, said he spent a couple of months overhauling the bar, which he was told was the only place south of Seattle with live blues and jazz seven days a week.
Fire, smoke and water damage also took a heavy toll on the neighboring Ruston Inn, a bar owned and run by Frank Ross for more than 30 years. Ross said he could not reopen unless his insurance covers losses he believes could run as high as $500,000.
Information from: The News Tribune
