Part of St. Augustine’s Atlantic Beach & Tennis Club was destroyed in a fire early Tuesday morning.
The club’s owner, who lives right behind the club, said he learned of the fire when he woke up at 1:45 a.m. and saw flames shooting through the roof of his business.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Bill Brothers said. “I was in shock.”
He said he yelled for his wife to call 911, but when they got a dispatcher, they learned firefighters were already battling the blaze on Ocean Trace Road off A1A South.
“It makes you sick to put 32 years into something and have it destroyed in just a few hours,” Brothers said, adding that they were about to celebrate 32 years in business next month. “I came over to watch it burn down -- something that you’ve worked on and that you love... But you can’t give up.”