Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
A Main Street view of Fonk's the morning after the fire.
A fireman sprays into the flames after the roof caves in.
The Fonk's building in Colfax stands condemned, a week after a three-alarm fire burned its interior and roof to the ground, its owners vowing to rebuild as the investigation is held back, the structure deemed unsafe to enter.
The Colfax Fire Department turned over control of the 1892 building's remains March 19 to its owners, the Warwick family, after monitoring the structure for two days.
Firefighters sprayed water on and off until 4 a.m. the second morning after the St. Patrick's Day fire.
The building housed Fonk's Coffeehouse, along with warehouse space for the Warwicks' Sport Town college apparel business.
The coffee shop was in the process of an imminent expansion. A meeting was scheduled with an electrician at 8 a.m. the morning after the fire. The project was to double the floor space, expected to open in a month. The store's closure to inside customers due to the coronavirus had allowed the expansion work to speed up.
The building was originally the Great Eastern Department Store, until 1928, when it became Fonk's Variety Store, running until 2000.
"It's very, very sad for our community," said Colfax Mayor Jim Retzer. "Lots and lots of memories from all kinds of people in the community. Fonk's has a lot of history in this town. I'm very proud of all our first responders... they saved that block and all those buildings."
The fire began that Tuesday about 7 p.m.
Crowds watched from the street as it burned, flames first seen at the roof, which later collapsed. Twenty-foot flames shot into the sky. Three people were sent to the hospital, including two from neighboring apartments and a firefighter. All were soon released.
The fire was contained at 10:13 p.m. that night.
72 Years
The Fonk’s chain of five-and-dime stores was started by a man named Anton Fonkalscrud, who hired Wilbert Johnson from the Woolworth’s company to move to Colfax in 1928 and manage a new Fonk’s.
The store moved into its current building soon after. It operated for 72 years, until the death of Wilbert’s son, Wilbert “Chic” Johnson, Jr. The family, which includes Colfax resident Bobby Black – Wilbert’s granddaughter – then began to clear out the store.
Black remembers finding an old display case of hats, with a 1908 manufacturer’s inscription inside the door, covered by stacks of boards and linoleum.
Fonk’s employed as many as 25 people in the 1950s.
“My heart is just broken,” Black said.
Her neighbor’s husband is a volunteer firefighter and she heard what was happening that evening.
“Unfortunately, I could watch it burn from my house. I’m heartbroken for the Warwicks. We were so honored when they wanted to call their coffee shop Fonk’s.”
Investigation
Still no one is allowed inside the building, with the area roped-off.
"As of right now, the structure is too unsteady for us to get in and dig around," said Tony Nuttman, Monday, lead fire investigator and a Deputy Fire Marshal for Pullman.
He was called to the fire at 9:30 p.m. that night. The investigation so far includes eyewitness accounts and those of firefighters.
"Sometimes we can figure it out. Sometimes we don't," said Nuttman. "I'm not gonna ask our investigators to go in there if the wall is unstable."
Another factor is the building's ground-level floor and basement.
"We don't know how steady the floor is," Nuttman said.
The Warwicks' insurance company is conducting its own investigation – with plans to breach the east wall in the next two weeks to dig out debris to be able to see where they need to.
It is possible the investigation will not be finished.
"If we can't get inside, the fire is ruled undetermined," said Nuttman.
All things considered, what are the chances of finding a cause for a fire like this?
"We just don't know," Nuttman said. "We could go in there and figure it out in a day – or we could never figure it out."
Warwicks
Members of the Warwick family now work on insurance matters and consider what may come next.
"It looks like a lot higher hill to climb than we thought," said Joel Warwick, director of operations for Sport Town.
"We're not gonna mess around... we want to rebuild," said Steve Warwick, Joel's father and a Sport Town founder. "We're hoping to get Fonk's back in that same location."
"The outpouring of support has been phenomenal," said Joel.
Fonk's Coffeehouse opened in 2012. The Warwicks put a new roof on the building two years later. Then it was new lighting upstairs. Once opened, Fonk's used 2,000 square feet of space while Sport Town used the remaining 8,000.
"We offer Fonk's for the community, but that's where our business really was," said Joel of Sport Town's online sales.
The Warwicks bought the building in 2009 – with birds flying in and out of it. They did some repairs and soon moved in to use the warehouse space.
The two-level building had 15-foot ceilings on the first floor and 12-foot on the second.
On the evening of March 17, Joel and Amy Warwick received a call at home.
"We went down and unlocked the back door. There was smoke from a lot of different areas," Joel said.
They soon knew it would be gone.
"We're hoping to salvage a couple things," said Joel, and Amy who managed Fonk's.
"Zero. I've looked in there," Steve said.
The building was condemned the next day – meaning it was barred from being occupied – and the blown-out windows boarded-up the day after.
"The outpouring of support, people willing to help us, has been wonderful," said Amy.
"We are very invested in this community... we plan to continue that..." Steve said.
"I've felt we've always diversified our business," Joel said.
What did they think when Fonk's opened?
"We thought, we'll offer a little place for people to come. It's only grown," said Amy.
The expansion would have added more menu items.
Now the costs of tear-down and rebuilding are front and center.
"We were under-insured," said Steve. "Nobody can accuse us of starting this fire. If so, we would've had more insurance."
When and if they rebuild, how will they retain the soul of Fonk's?
"We're part of the soul and the following is part of the soul," Steve said.
"We feel like Fonk's is the heart of Colfax," said Joel.
The Warwicks bought the building from Rencorp Realty, which owned it after the Fonk's store was liquidated in 2000.
"Be patient," Steve said. "We're just asking our customers to be patient."
Burning
The fire was first reported at 7:02 p.m. with Colfax crews responding to find smoke coming from the back and side of the building.
According to Randy Miller, incident command, firefighters entered a back door and deciphered a fire burning too hot to go further. The department pulled the crew from inside and went into a defensive attack mode.
At 7:45 p.m. the fire was upgraded to a second alarm, which brought more outside aid from Palouse area fire departments. It was later upgraded to a third alarm.
"If that wall comes down and hits that pole, those lines are going to land right on top of you," said a firefighter to an onlooker behind and to one side of the building. "So stay away from the alley here."
Inside the building came the sound of a bank of lights falling.
High above, a firefighter soon worked from an extended ladder, spraying water down into the roofless building. An errant stream hit the top of one remaining wall, bricks falling to the ground below, past the wall mural painted last summer.
Colfax's Ladder One and a Pullman ladder crew continued to spray from above, to limit heat from the fire to protect neighboring buildings.
In front, a board fell out of a second floor window and burned on the sidewalk.
"Clear out of downtown!" called a policeman, directing crowds down dark Main Street toward the library. "Everyone go home. We need you to clear out and let the firefighters do their work."
Power had been shut off across town.
Heavy slams heard during the blaze were thought to be the old freight elevator's weights falling to the floor.
The damage remained mainly limited to the Fonk's building while smoke and heat affected neighboring apartments on Main Street and Bruning Funeral Home behind.
The American Red Cross was called in to help six displaced people.
Total crews on scene were 26 apparatus (engines, ladders, ambulances, command and investigation) and approximately 80 volunteers from many agencies.
The City of Colfax hired a consulting engineer the next day, Reliant Engineering of Pullman, to determine the structural integrity of the building and those nearby.
"The majority of the walls are intact enough that the building should not fall over," said Steve Bretveld, Colfax building inspector.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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