Fire destroys Dobbs

By LPR Staff
Editor/POST-REGISTER

“It”s so sad. It”s just so sad.”
Dozens, perhaps hundreds of area residents gathered on Tuesday evening with the single thought on their minds and lips as a fire ripped through Dobbs” Fried Chicken.
Shortly after 8 p.m. on Tuesday, a fire broke out in th

e small restaurant. Within hours, the restaurant owned by Preston and Nancee Dobbs of Lockhart was in ruin.
“When we arrived on the scene, smoke was pouring out of the building,” said Lockhart Fire Department”s acting captain Warren Lay. “About the time we got here, the fire broke through the roof.”
Witnesses on the scene estimated that the inferno towered between 10 and 30 feet above the building before the fire department was able to contain it. According to one member of the Dobbs family, all employees and customers evacuated the building before it was engulfed in flames and no one was injured.
Fire crews from Luling, San Marcos, Niederwald, Uhland and Lytton Springs gathered at the scene to offer assistance to the Lockhart Fire Department. Law enforcement officials including Caldwell County Constables, the Lockhart Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety cut off access to Highway 183 in the area surrounding the blaze.
The cause of the fire was uncertain as of press time, but Lay speculated that the fire began in the restaurant”s kitchen area and spread through the restaurant. Lay said that the rest of the strip center likely sustained smoke and water damage, but were not affected by the flames.
“We were able to contain it just to the restaurant,” Lay said. He further indicated that the Caldwell County Fire Marshall would take the lead in the investigation, and that additional information about the fire”s cause would be released as it became available.
The Dobbs family remained at the scene for much of the night, standing vigil with several members of their church as their 33-year-old business crumbled.

Editor”s note: I opted not to speak directly with Mr. Or Mrs. Dobbs on Tuesday night because of the nature of this incident. I felt it more appropriate to allow them their privacy with their family and friends. I hope that the entire community will join me in extending thoughts and prayers to the Dobbs family. -kb