LUFKIN, TX (KTRE) -
Lufkin firefighters battled a blaze at Nubangz Studio in the 3200 block of South Medford Drive Tuesday morning. The Lufkin Fire Department responded with several fire trucks, including a ladder truck.
"They just knocked down the fire primarily using an aerial apparatus," Steve McCool, a City of Lufkin fire marshall.
The call came in around 8:50 a.m. A caller stated that black smoke filled the air, and that emergency crews had blocked the off-ramp on that side of South Medford Drive to allow the fire trucks to have access. Firefighters fought the blaze for nearly three hours.
"The fire broke through the roof, and we were concerned about collapse," McCool said.
Jimmy Capps stated that he had just moved to this new location in July. Nubangz Studio and Pretty In Ink is a combination tattoo parlor and beauty salon. Jerry Poland and Jimmy Capps run the tattoo parlor, and Misty Nerren runs the beauty salon portion.
Becky Cansler said she was getting her hair done by Nerren in the beauty salon portion of the business.
"Misty smelled something burning, and we went looking for where the smoke was coming from," Cansler said. "Less than a minute later, smoke started filling the room. We grabbed our stuff and got out."
Cansler said everything Nerren owned was in the building, adding it "was her life."
Understandably, Capps was distraught as he watched the blaze consume his building. "I feel lost, he said as he watched firefighters battle the flames.
Once the fire was over, the business owners and their employees were left with nothing. The place that once inspired art and creativity was totally destroyed.
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