Fire Destroys Full Throttle Saloon

STURGIS, SD – The self-proclaimed “World’s Largest Biker Bar” is no more. An overnight fire destroyed the Full Throttle Saloon,  a landmark haunt of riders during the annual rally staged in Sturgis.

 Fire photos by Sturgis VFD

The “Rapid City Journal” reports that firefighters aren’t sure what started the blaze. The call came shortly after midnight and members of the  Sturgis Volunteer Fire Department and five other departments responded. The AP reports that an adjoining distillery containing 500 gallons of grain alcohol may have helped fuel the fire.

It took less than three hours for the Full Throttle Saloon to be leveled. Sturgis VFD assistant chief Shawn Burrows told the newspaper, “We tried making access through the west side walk-in doors, but they were locked. We came around to the front-side garage doors on the north side of the building and cut a hole in it to make entry to the building.”

“There was a lot of heat in there, so it had been going for awhile. Someone mentioned at that time that there was a heavy body of fire in the ceiling area. Shortly after that it burned through the roof. There was a heavy body of fire over in the northwest corner. That’s where I hear the distillery portion was, so whether it was caused by the distillery or not, I don’t know,” Burrows said.

Firefighting efforts were challenged by the fact there were no fire hydrants in the area. Water had to be trucked in. No injuries were reported.

The Full Throttle Saloon was the subject of a reality TV series and was a popular destination bar. Ed Henderson of Waterbury, CT visited there in 2013.

Photo contributed by Ed Henderson