Responders extinguish electrical fire smouldering inside Higgins Hotel walls early hours of May 17

Rosie’s Cantina, the bar and restaurant inside the historic Higgins Hotel on W. Birch Street, has been shut down temporarily due to a smouldering fire which took place within the hotel’s walls in the early morning hours of May 17.

Business owner Amber Weaver said that there is “no date as of now (set for reopening). Things are still up in the air.”

The fire which caused the closure of the eatery, and part of the hotel, started between the second and third floor of the Higgins Hotel.

On May 17, a 911 call was made and the Glenrock Volunteer Fire Department grabbed their gear. 

According to Glenrock Volunteer Fire Department Chief Shon Lindsey, the firefighters “responded to smoke in the building.”

Three GVFD fire engines and the ladder truck rushed to the scene. The Glenrock Police Department assisted at the fire as well, with two patrol cars and officers to aid in traffic control.

Weaver said rumors are circulating around town which are untrue regarding the cause of the fire.

“A lot of people think it might have been a kitchen fire. It was not. The restaurant is just closed for cleaning (following the fire),” she said.

“A bolt sparked an electrical fire. There was electricity running through the bolt and it was seeking a ground. With all the moisture that was trapped it helped conduct heat and a smoldering fire was created,” the fire chief explained.

Firefighters searched each room  thoroughly, looking for the fire’s origin and answers.

“It was hard to figure out where the smoke was coming from initially while inside the building.

“Even with the heat detectors and searching all of the multiple floors, we did not locate much until we went outside,” Lindsey stated.

Once outside, one of the firefighters was looking around and noticed smoke leaking from a crack.

Lindsey said the fire had not spread far from the base of the sign (where the fire may have originated) except to a small section of surrounding wall and a stud that runs along the window sill.

There, firefighters found the culprit.

“There was nothing too major other than the smoke damage throughout. We lucked out with it only being a small section,” Weaver said.

While the damages to the outside  of the hotel may have been small, it is still hard to determine the total cost of damages, Lindsey said.

“Since it’s a historical building, it’s even harder to calculate. Plus, the total extent of the damages are hard to estimate since a lot of it is smoke damage throughout (the building).”

This fire was not the first the hotel has experienced in its long history.

“There was a fire previously in the same location in the building walls roughly 30 years ago. The Higgins Hotel has been on fire potentially more than these two incidents according to some of the other firefighters that have been around for longer than I,” Lindsey stated.

Weaver shared that she is grateful for the community’s response to the fire.

“Our community has been giving us great support and we really appreciate them. We hope we can be getting back to serving them soon. The first priority is to have the bar, kitchen and lobby opened as soon as possible then to worry about the rooms,” she said.