Watch CBS News

Fire at downtown Dallas music club being investigated as arson

Fire at downtown Dallas music club being investigated as arson
Fire at downtown Dallas music club being investigated as arson 01:57

DALLAS — Dallas Fire Rescue is investigating a fire at a downtown Dallas house music club as arson. 

One of the owners of Jack's House said he witnessed what happened and even tried to stop the person responsible. 

John Wayne Colwell and his business partner say they poured everything they had into Jack's House, a late-night dance club. 

"We've been here for two years," he said. "When we first got here, we didn't really know the ropes about having an after-hours clubs with all the permitting and stuff."

He said they spent months getting all the permits they needed to operate and host dance parties in downtown Dallas and even received a Copper Star certification from 24HourDallas, signifying they had gone through training to make their business responsible and inclusive.

"We just created a really safe place for people to dance after hours," he said. "We booked 20 DJs a weekend. We have a bunch of promoters. We've entertained international acts, celebrities, athletes."

Early Friday morning all their hard work went up in flames. 

"At 4 o'clock in the morning, my partner was up here by himself," Colwell said.  "He sees this arsonist throwing gasoline onto the electric box and he chased him out of the building. This isn't the first time. Somebody has also tried to do this before." 

DFR confirms they're investigating this as arson but said there are no suspects at this time. 

"We don't know who it is," Colwell said. "We have no idea. I just can't believe somebody would do something like this." 

He said they lost everything. 

"We had tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment in there, from speakers to lights, to DJ booth, DJ equipment," he said. "Everybody is just beside themselves trying to figure out who did it and what are we going to do next?" 

Colwell said since the fire multiple venues have reached out to volunteer their space for parties. Jack's House is working to find a permanent home and will be doing some upcoming fundraising events. They are posting updates on social media.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.