Rio Area Historical Society

A fire of undetermined origin gutted the Tobi Bar in Rio early the morning of November 11, 1969.

Only the brick shell of the building was still standing despite the combined efforts of Rio and Fall River volunteer departments.

The alarm was sounded at 3:15 a.m. And the Fall River firefighters arrived to assist about 15 minutes later.  The alarm was turned in by Kenneth Bartz, who lives just east of the tavern on Union Street.   He

saw the flames when he got up with one of his children during the night.

The fire was believed to have started toward the rear of the building and was blazing up through the roof at the time it was seen. It was believed that smoking materials may have been disposed of in a waste basket but that was not confirmed.  The building was insured but no estimate of damages was available.

According to the wife of the fire chief, Mrs. Lyle Benzine, the blaze had a good start before it was detected.  The fire was extinguished by about 4:30 a.m. But they continued to pour water on the building for several hours after that.

The tavern was formerly known as Stan and Marlene's but was leased earlier this year by William Pfister of Madison and was operated as “Tobi's”.  The building was owned by Mrs. Anne Hartley of Rio.

Property on either side of the building was not damaged because of the brick walls of the Hartley Building and the metal on the walls of the Hardware store just a few feet away.

Submitted by Darlene Lerum

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http://youtu.be/WD-Q5Ro7Uz8

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