Old West Studio, a Western re-enactment stage, burned to the ground April 11 at the same location as Six Gun City Restaurant and Bar that burned down in 2010.
After an investigation that ended the morning after, the cause of the fire was listed as undetermined, fire officials said.
“It may have been a cigarette that got tossed,” said Tombstone Marshal Jeff Mitchell, adding that no accelerants were found. “It’s a fire investigation, not a criminal investigation.”
The fire broke out at 4:15 p.m. on the corner of Fifth and Toughnut streets.
“What we had was a fire in the western part of the theater and by the time fire units got on scene, the fire was fully evolved,” said Whetstone Fire Chief Peter Bidon. whose station responded.
Tombstone Fire Department officials said there were no signs of suspicious or foul play in the blaze.
“There is not electrical power to the set. There is no electrical wires on that property, so for the most part we can rule out an electrical fire,” Bidon said.
Steven Compton, who manages the gunfights at the studio, said that the actors did not see any potential signs of fire on April 11.
“We finished our third show and we checked the set and we didn’t see anything wrong, so we locked up and left,” Compton said.
Compton said he received a call about the fire 20 minutes after he left the studio.
Departments from Tombstone, Whetstone, Huachuca City and St. David responded with more than 40 personnel, four engines, three rescue and two support vehicles. The fire was out by 5:30 p.m.
In December 2010, fire destroyed Six Gun City in a blaze whose cause also was never determined.