last night. The Palace has also been the site of a few wrestling events. It is good to hear that no one was hurt. I tried to reach Dundee for comment, but he was unavailable.THE STORY
A Jackson nightclub appears to have been vandalized before being set on fire deliberately, according to an incident report from the Jackson Fire Department.
The report said that firefighters responded to an alarm at 12:57 a.m. Friday at The Palace, located at 45 Broadview Drive. When they arrived on the scene at 1:04 a.m., they saw water coming from the nightclub and smelled smoke.
The firefighters forced entry into the nightclub, finding heavy smoke and the sprinkler system running, the report said. While inside, the firefighters used thermal imaging cameras to locate the origin of the fire.
The report said that ventilation was set-up and firefighters inside determined that the fire was put out by the sprinkler system.
After firefighters saw multiple gas cans inside the nightclub, vandalized property and fire trails, an arson investigator was called to the scene.
The report said that the ignition factor was "incendiary," which is a term used to refer to a fire that has been deliberately set. "Flammable/combustible" was the type of materials ignited, the report said.
Damages from the smoke and fire was contained to the nightclub, the report said.
Property owner Terry Story said in a phone interview Friday night that he was told by firefighters that the nightclub, which is insured, was broken into and was ransacked.
"It's just a big mess," Story said. "We don't know what the damages are."
Nightclub owner Freddie Gaggley could not be reached Friday night for comments.
Credit: TYRONE TONY REED JR. ttreed@jacksonsun.com http://www.jacksonsun.com/
