Carrying her portable compact disc player, Jenny O'Brien gaped in astonishment Monday afternoon as she saw fire trucks parked outside of the front entrance of Total Fitness Athletic Center.
"Two weeks until spring break, and now this," the Baker University student and Lawrence resident said as she peered through the open front doors into the charred and soaked lobby, where fire hoses still lay. "I come here just about everyday, and now I'm not sure what I'm going to do."
About 3,100 members of Total Fitness Athletic Center are without their regular workout facility. An early-morning fire Monday caused an estimated $350,000 in damage at the center, 901 Iowa.
The fire broke out shortly before 1 a.m. Monday at the center, 925 Iowa. The first firefighters on the scene reported flames and heavy smoke pouring from the building's roof, said Richard Barr, Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical fire marshal.
Two additional fire companies were called. About three dozen firefighters attacked the blaze until about 3:30 a.m., Barr said. Firefighters mainly aimed their nozzles at the southwest corner of the building, where most of the damage was concentrated. Barr said that corner of the building had housed a basketball court and some sort of educational room.
Hefty damage
No injuries were reported. Damage was conservatively estimated around $350,000 but that dollar figure was expected to rise once closer inspections had been completed inside the center, Barr said.
Investigators hadn't determined a cause on Monday and waited that afternoon for a crane to lift the building's collapsed ceiling. Because the fire breached the roof in the southwest corner and caused most of the damage there, investigators hoped to find a possible cause in that area, Barr said.
About half of the roof remained intact and appeared to be in good shape, Barr said. About 25 percent had collapsed, and a small additional portion was in poor condition. Engineers were scheduled to inspect the building to determine its structural soundness before any firefighters examined the internal damage.
The center had been closed when the fire ignited and would have opened at 5 a.m. Monday. On weekdays the center is open 24 hours a day.
Two adjacent businesses FiFi's Restaurant and Audio Video Services also suffered damage. FiFi's, which is to the north of Total Fitness, suffered minor smoke damage, and Audio Video, which is behind the athletic center, suffered severe water damage.
An aerial view from a Lawrence fire truck ladder shows damage to the roof and southwest corner of Total Fitness Athletic Center, 925 Iowa. An early-morning fire severely damaged the structure.
Sunday Hodges, manager of Munchers Bakery, reported the fire Monday. She said a customer in the bakery, which is next door to Total Fitness in a row of storefronts, left the store and then ran back inside to tell her of smoke rising from the building.
Munchers made six pots of coffee for firefighters who fought the blaze, Hodges said.
Alternative plans
The fitness center doesn't plan to leave its customers without exercise facilities. O'Brien and about 3,100 other members of Total Fitness will be allowed to work out at Sixth Street Fitness, 2500 W. Sixth St., until a temporary facility is opened within four to six weeks.
"We're going to try to do as much as we can to make our facilities available," said Brent Anderson, Sixth Street Fitness general manager. "We may have to bring in extra staff to provide the same level of services, but we'll do it as long as it takes."
Barb Frakes heard about the fire and drove by Monday afternoon to inspect the damage. She said she had been an off-and-on customer and enjoyed the personal touch the employees had.
"They were wonderful with me," said Frakes, who exercised on a modified schedule because she is pregnant. "It's kind of daunting, though, to have to go somewhere and start over. But I feel so sorry for them. I'm just glad no one was inside when it happened."
Customers won't be charged their monthly membership dues as long as the facility is closed, said Scott Dougan, membership director at Total Fitness.
Out-of-town customers also may exercise at locations in Topeka and Overland Park.
Deja vu
Rick Sells, owner of Lawrence Athletic Club, 3201 Mesa Way, said he understood the stress Total Fitness officials were undergoing. Two years ago, Sells had to start over again when an electrical malfunction nearly destroyed the LAC.
"It's definitely an ordeal," he said. "We're just starting to get our heads above water."
Company officials spent part of Monday reviewing possible sites for a temporary Total Fitness location. The health club plans to open an office within the Hillcrest shopping center by today.
Letters detailing the fire and listing other centers that customers may attend will be mailed within the next one to two days.
"We don't want anyone wondering what's going on," Dougan said. "We want them to know up-front and right away."
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