No foul play suspected in Jitterbugs fire

By JOHNNY JOHNSON, The Daily Sentinel
Monday, May 01, 2006
Officials with the state fire marshal's office said there is no sign of foul play or arson in the Sunday morning fire that gutted Jitterbugs on west Loop 224.
Kyle Morris, an inspector with the state fire marshal's office in Lufkin, said there was no evidence that led him to believe that the fire had been deliberately set, and there were no signs that any incendiaries or accelerants were used.
Morris spent a few hours at the scene Monday morning, searching for a cause and origin of the fire that destroyed what was arguably the largest private club in Texas, but he said he could not go into details about what he found.
Insurance inspectors will be coming to examine the fire, later this week, according to Morris.
"That's standard procedure with a fire of this size," he said. "We have limited resources at the state fire marshal's office, and insurance companies have a lot more resources and they can come help out in some of the different areas of the investigation, which is still ongoing."
The Sunday morning fire that ripped through the local honky tonk left only a rough shell of the building.
Robert Y'Barbo, who owned the club along with his brother, Bubba, said he has no idea what the future holds for Jitterbugs — whether it is feasible to rebuild, or whether he and his brother have any interest in rebuilding the club.
"You know this was the largest private club in the state of Texas," Robert Y'Barbo said. "There's a guy in Stephenville, who claims that his club, City Limits was the biggest. It wasn't — but I guess it is now."
Johnny Johnson's e-mail address is jjohnson@coxnews.com.