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Firefighters battle a fire above the Tumbleweed Connection in downtown Dayton on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009.Click to enlarge

DAYTON — A two-alarm fire at the Tumbleweed Connection bar on Thursday night, Feb. 19, that sent gusts of smoke throughout the Oregon Historic District was difficult to extinguish because of how the building's roof was built, a fire official said.

A bartender hustled patrons out of the bar, at 454 E. Fifth St., when fire was discovered about 7 p.m. No one was injured and the cause is under investigation, Dayton Assistant Fire Chief Jeffrey Payne said.

Multiple replacement roofs built one on top of the other during the 100-year history of the building complicated the effort to douse the flames, Payne said.

Five engines and four ladder trucks were dispatched to the business just after 7 p.m.

At 8 p.m., firefighters still were pouring water onto the top of the building, trying to drown out flames stubbornly burning between roof layers.

"Sometimes it is cheaper to just build another roof on top of the existing roof," Payne said. "The only problem is when you bust through one layer, then you have to fight through the next."

Firefighters could only battle the flames from the outside because the multiple roofs made staying inside the building too dangerous, he said.

The fire is believed to have started in a rear office on the second floor, said Payne, who noted that no neighboring buildings were endangered by flames partly because the concrete walls on the east and west sides of the bar helped contain the fire.

"I have owned the building for 30 years and this is the first time there's been a fire," bar owner James Atkinson said. "I'm shocked, what can I say?"

He said he was at home when someone called to tell him about the fire. He said fire investigators told him the fire started in the wiring, but Payne would not confirm that.

Andrea Myers, 28, of Dayton was enjoying a drink on the first floor when the fire started. She said she smelled smoke, then the lights went out, and the bartender herded everyone outside into the freezing cold. It was not immediately clear how many patrons were in the bar at the time.

Payne could not put a dollar amount on the damage to the building or its contents.

Mike VanDerbosch, 47, of Dayton, who watched firefighters, said he'll miss the bar until it reopens.

"It's one of the best bars in the District," he said. "It's way laid back and has a good mix of people — lawyers, construction workers, students. It was a good blue-collar bar."