Tulsa Bakery Damaged By Fire

Monday, January 22nd 2007, 9:49 am

By: News On 6

A long-time Tulsa bakery is badly damaged after a weekend fire. Ann's Bakery, sitting near the corner of Admiral and Harvard for almost 70 years, lost it's entire kitchen and inventory in an overnight blaze Saturday.

News on 6 reporter Heather Lewin has the story.

"In daylight it was a shock, because at night we couldn't really tell, there were no lights and we really didn't notice the damage," Annâ€™s Bakery owner Sharon Pollock said.

But in the harsh light of day, Pollock sees what she has lost, the work of three generations, the place where she and her children grew up.

"I was very surprised because I thought the damage was minimal, we thought it was located in one spot upstairs, but it wasn't, it's the whole back end of the bakery," she said.

Officials think the fire started around 1:30 in the morning, at least that's when the clock melted. Pollock says she doesn't have a damage estimate at this point, but clearly they've lost just about everything. And for the family, this loss is about much more than money.

"A lot of the things back in the back belonged to my Dad, a lot of machines he actually built, and we've lost all those," said Pollock.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, officials believe it started in the space between the first and second floors then spread throughout the kitchen. The flames destroyed nearly everything in their path, but a few spots low to the floor were passed over.

"See nothing melted down here, that doesn't even look like it's been touched," Pollock said.

But even areas that look untouched are still damaged by smoke. All of the baked goods in the front display case have to be thrown away.

"Just seeing some of the old things that we were kind of attached to over the years, but you know, that just happens,â€ Pollock said. â€œWe'll rebuild, get it back going."

The way they always do, from scratch.

The bakery may be closed up to a month, they had six wedding cake orders for this week alone, but they'll be able to fill those with help from Ludgers' Catering who are donating their talents and their kitchen.