Tom Beck stood in line for “great music, great atmosphere, great friends.”

Suzanne Finney enjoyed the good bands and the good mood.

“It’s one of those places you always knew was there,” Finney said.

Now the 85-year-old institution is nothing but ashes.

An early morning fire Friday destroyed the Fife landmark at 8014 Valley Ave. E. It appears to have started outside the building, making it suspicious, said Mark Mears, Fife’s assistant police chief.

“We have not ruled arson out at this point,” he said.

Kevin O’Donnal, deputy Tacoma fire marshal, said it will take investigators at least until Tuesday night to determine the cause.

The club was closed down in mid-December for three months after a Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department inspection found septic system problems.

The Firwood reopened in mid-March. Owners installed new septic tanks – the first half of the required work – and were given interim approval, said Jim Hoyle of the Health Department.

The Tacoma Fire Department didn’t inspect the Firwood before it reopened because the roadhouse had been shut down for health reasons, O’Donnal said. An engine crew went out to perform a regular annual inspection in February but didn’t examine the building because it was closed, O’Donnal said.

The City of Fife contracts with Tacoma for fire service in lieu of having its own department.

The Fabulous Firwood drew crowds of 700 people for live music on Friday and Saturday nights. The Great Pretenders, a classic-rock house band, was one of the biggest attractions.

Sallee, of Tacoma, recalled hanging out decades ago with her then-husband.

“He and I used to spend almost every Friday and Saturday night at the Firwood, dancing to the Great Pretenders almost 38 years ago when I was pregnant with my second child,” said Sallee, 64.

Beck, 49, said he started going to the Firwood when he got out of the Navy in 1980.

“It was a good place to go, and everybody was always happy there,” he said.

Eileen Dozier said she had planned to go to the Firwood on Friday night.

“The loss of the Firwood is not just about the memories from the past,” Dozier said, “It will forever affect the memories of our future, too.”

Jaey Hong, who owned the business the past three years, stood near his wife, Sunny, and stared at the charred remains Friday. Janice Park, the building’s owner, also looked blankly at the scene.

“I have no feeling at this point,” Park said.

She said the property was insured and worth about $1.6 million, including land.

“Probably, I’ll rebuild,” Park said. “It’s too early to tell.”

Assistant manager Crystal Mitchell cried and said she was devastated.

“It’s more than a bar,” said Mitchell, 23. “It’s a piece of history. It’s a big loss.”

However, the Firwood was a sore spot for Fife police. Chief Brad Blackburn said in mid-December that it was the city’s biggest source of calls for service. Officers frequently responded to fights, drunken-driving complaints and other problems there, Blackburn said. He was out of town on business Friday and couldn’t be reached.

“We certainly aren’t happy to see people lose their property and their livelihood,” assistant chief Mears said.

The Firwood started as a small tavern and expanded in the 1980s into a roadhouse with live music and a mechanical bull.

“I’m really sorry that it burned, because it was historically significant to people around here,” said Louise Hospenthal, president of the Fife Historical Society. “It is the end of an era. Roadhouses have gone by the wayside.”

Tacoma firefighters spent several hours battling flames from outside but couldn’t save the 10,000-square-foot wood structure.

A Fife patrol officer on his way to work spotted smoke coming from the back of the building at 4:50 a.m. The first firefighters arrived at 5 a.m. to find the building engulfed in flames.

Soon after, the roof collapsed. Firefighters called for more help and fought the flames defensively. Two water tenders from Riverside Fire and Central Pierce Fire & Rescue came to the scene, O’Donnal said. There are no fire hydrants at the business or in the immediate area.

Fife police, Tacoma fire investigators and agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also at the scene.

The owners reported that they’d closed up the tavern at 11 p.m. Thursday, said Fife police Lt. Tom Thompson. No one was believed to have been in the tavern when the officer discovered the fire.

Within an hour after it was reported, Great Pretenders lead singer Charlie Hollis got a call from a former sound engineer who told him the bad news. Hollis turned on the TV and saw the Firwood in flames.

The Great Pretenders began playing at the Firwood in May 1973 and continued every weekend for the next 14 years. They played there again as recently as two weeks ago.

“It was the biggest dance floor around, the biggest tavern,” said Hollis, who teaches sixth grade at Surprise Lake Middle School.

“Everybody had a great time. People met listening to us at the Firwood, people got married listening to us,” Hollis said.

“There’ve been a few tears,” he said.

Now, “we’ve got to find a new place to play.”

Steve Maynard: 253-597-8647

Stacey Mulick: 253-597-8268

blogs.thenewstribune.com/crime

Staff writer C.R. Roberts contributed to this report.