It will not be a surprise if the building is considered a complete
loss. The flames were extremely high and firefighters were
battling the blaze for quite some time. Christmas night will
hold some not-so-good memories for the Nueske family.
I am sure that the cause will be given later. The BlackJack
Steakhouse has been a wonderful fine restaurant for MANY
years in Antigo. A very sad occurrence.
.
Black Jack was one of the few nice places to eat in our area and will surely be missed. I hope they get to the bottom of what started the blaze and why it took the fire dept. 35 mins to respond.
Great place to eat, and sad to see it go. About the response time I did not hear it took 35 mins to respond but being in the town of Antigo, was it first responders? Being Christmas day responders could have been scattered and the weather I am sure did not help. These factors may have taken them more time to get to their equipment at the airport and to the scene. Just speculation with knowing any facts.
EDIT: (last line) Just speculation without knowing any facts.
Not to worry, robwatrp. Speculation without knowing any facts is the driving force of this community’s dynamics. For instance, I think Santa came back to the Blackjack after his global tour for some additional snacks, found the incredible Nueske meats stashed in the fridge, and gorged himself so much that he couldn’t fit up the chimney and got stuck, causing the fire. Of course, that’s just speculation….
It took 35 minutes to response because the city of Antigo refused to fight it, as it was the the responsibility of the Town of Antigo on that side of the street. City truck did help out after the town truck arrived. That 35 minutes could have saved the building, however. If I was the Schroeder’s, I would sue for damage to buiding caused by negligence on behalf of the city. I watched the flames shoot out until close to 10:00pm. It is a tragedy to lose a landmark like Blackjack ~ no matter what. Anyone who knew anything about Antigo, knew Blackjack.
By the way this is not specualtion, it came from the mouths of firefighters. Redicilous behavior from those who get paid to protect us and our homes.