Fire destroys South Tacoma Way tavern

Tacoma fire fighters responded to a reported commercial structure fire at Sir-C’s Tavern at approximately 3:55 p.m. Tuesday to find heavy flames and smoke pouring out of the one-story building located in the 6200 block of South Tacoma Way. According to Tacoma Fire spokesperson Joe Meinecke, initially crews mounted an interior attack, but moved to a defensive strategy as the well-entrenched fire compromised the structural stability of the building. A single employee was in the business at the time of the fire and was able to escape without harm. The cause of the fire was determined to be embers from a weed-burning propane torch, which ignited a fire that was trapped inside the exterior wall of the building, eventually burning its way to the roof of the structure. The fire resulted in estimated $130,000 damage to the building and its contents, and is considered a total loss.