Two Huntsville fire captains were burned early Saturday morning evacuating their crews from a burning bowling alley on South Memorial Parkway. The captains, who were not seriously injured, and their crews were unable to save the AMF Parkway Lanes alley at 2309 South Memorial Parkway.

Fire Chief Mac McFarlen Jr. said today the fire was reported at 3:55 a.m. after the bowling alley had been closed for about 90 minutes. Its cause is still unknown. Firefighters led by Capts. Troy Graves and Jeremiah Walters entered the building trying to put out the fire, McFarlen said.

The heat was so intense it created a flashover as the crews were pulling back. "They were basically the last out," McFarlen said of the captains. Flashovers happen when all of the combustible material in an area catches fire at the same time. "We were lucky to have experienced guys in there," McFarlen said. "They did a heck of a job."

Fire was still visible in the collapsed bowling alley Saturday morning, and people were stopping in parking lots on both sides of the Parkway to take pictures of the longtime Huntsville recreational institution. Police closed the northbound access road, but traffic was backed up and slow on the Parkway northbound.

The alley's owner had just invested in renovations and a new sign, firefighters said, and was poised to get more business when the Plamor Lanes closes across Memorial Parkway to make room for an expanded car dealership on April 30.

McFarlen said smoke drifting across Huntsville from the fire caused a stream of calls to the Fire Department early Saturday morning. "People woke up and smelled smoke and thought their house was on fire," McFarlen said.

(Updated at 11:53 a.m. to note that northbound access road closed in front of fire scene)