Bullwinkle's will rebuild, owner says after devastating fire

Bullwinkle’s Lounge will rebuild after a devastating fire that occurred late Wednesday night.

That’s the message operator Mike Bridges of Poplar Bluff had Thursday morning, after a fire destroyed much of the business he’s spent almost 23 years building.

The log-cabin style building may be best known for the Rocky’s Flying School plane crashed into the exterior, but Bridges’ collection of antiques, oddities and curiosities extended to every inch of the interior walls and even ceilings.

Firefighters battle the blaze Wednesday night.

Those are the irreplaceable items that were destroyed Wednesday, said Bridges, as he toured the property Thursday morning and met with utility crews to talk about what to do next.

The fire started just after 9 p.m., Bridges said. While there were employees and patrons in the building, everyone got out safely, he explained.

“The bartender smelled smoke. We’ve had trouble with an (exterior) neon sign for the last three or four months,” Bridges explained. “She turned off the breaker immediately and then called 911. It spread very rapidly.”

The exterior of the building is pictured prior to the fire.

A total of 19 Butler County firefighters responded to the Highway T property, coming from the Lake Road Substation, Main Station and Rockwood Substation, according to fire reports. They were on scene for approximately three hours, using about 6,000 gallons of water to extinguish the blaze.

The building “received heavy fire damage to the south half of it. The rest of it received heavy smoke and heat damage. The fire damage is mainly in the south end of the building,” according to fire reports.

Bridges said it may take a few months, but he plans to reopen as soon as he can. He’s already begun to talk about debris removal.

Operator Mike Bridges spent the past 22 years collecting items for his business. Most were destroyed in Wednesday's fire.

Unfortunately, he believes most of the interior items will be a complete loss.

The lounge was decorated with everything from stadium seats and sports paraphernalia, to gas pumps, Egyptian and Island-themed statues, moose and deer heads, a life-size red British telephone booth and much more.

“I designed everything in there,” Bridges said. “We opened here in 1999. I just collected things. I don’t know how I came up with it. It was a vacant building at the time.”

His favorite item inside was the tridactyl. The first of his collection were gas pumps and a totem pole.

Bridges considers himself both very lucky and unlucky, in that no one was hurt but that decades of work were destroyed.

“We are going to build back. We’re still evaluating everything but we are going to build back,” he said.

Bridges is hopeful some items from the backroom may have been spared from the worst of the damage.

Bridges currently leases the lounge building from the property owners, having sold the property and nearby motel in October with the condition that he would maintain operation of the lounge.

The building, located at 397 Highway T, is owned by Eddie Godinez.

Additional reporting by staff writer Barbara Ann Horton.