Fire at historic LGBTQ West Palm bar was accidental, city says

WEST PALM BEACH -- The fire that damaged a historic LGBTQ bar in West Palm Beach last month has been ruled accidental, according to a city fire marshal report released this week.

Crews were called to H.G. Rooster's, located on the 800 block of Belvedere Road just east of Interstate 95, just after 2:30 a.m. May 19.

There, firefighters were able to put out a fire that appeared to have started in the kitchen, though, as noted in the report, there was no cooking equipment because the bar did not serve food.

Video and statements from Rooster's staff led investigators to determine the fire "spontaneously ignited" in a pile of "soiled rags containing an unknown amount of multiple chemicals," which "caused the smoldering of the surrounding material."

Investigators noted there was a storm that day that cut power to the area, but there were no electrical outlets in the vicinity of where the fire started. In addition, the report indicates two electrical breakers appeared to have tripped.

Though there were no sprinklers or fire alarm in the building, a burglary-detection system alerted the manager, Arthur Vale, of the fire, according to the report.

Rooster's owner, A.J. Wasson, told The Palm Beach Post after the fire that he had lapsed on paying liability insurance for the building in order to keep paying his employees while the bar was closed due to state and local coronavirus restrictions.

"I didn't in my wildest dreams think about a fire," he told The Post. "I was just worried about (my employees)."

Wasson said in May that he intends to rebuild Rooster's, which opened more than 30 years ago.

As of Friday morning, more than $50,000 had been raised from nearly 300 donors through a GoFundMe webpage to help rebuild the bar. The goal is to reach $100,000.

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@hannahwinston

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