OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford Firefighters and investigators gather Tuesday morning at the scene of the Pawn Starz fire, on Route 20 in Sheridan.

SHERIDAN — Investigators started to sift through the rubble this morning at the scene of a fire that destroyed a pawn shop.

Pawn Starz, located on the corner of Route 20 and Roberts Road in the town of Sheridan, was completely gutted in the fire. The section nearest Roberts Road was leveled; the part adjacent to its parking lot was still standing, but charred and missing much of its roof.

Around 8 a.m., some firefighters and investigators stood in a group and discussed the scene. They soon moved out for a tour of the grounds.

The fire was not completely out, according to one firefighter. He said there were still “hot spots” smoking in what was left of the roof.

He added that he was at the scene until 3 a.m. this morning before going home for a couple hours of sleep. The fire started about 5:30 p.m. Monday.

There were massive traffic backups this morning on nearby Route 20, due in part to an unrelated road construction project a few hundred yards from the fire scene.

Firefighters from the Sheridan, East Dunkirk, West Dunkirk, Dunkirk, Cassadaga, Silver Creek, Irving, Sunset Bay and Fredonia fire departments responded. In addition, the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Department, Alstar Ambulance and the New York State Police were at the location Monday.

The building has housed a pawn shop and a swingers’ club in the past couple of decades, and both have had their share of controversy. However, bowling fans of a certain age will remember it as Astro Lanes. That closed around the turn of the century.