January 7, 2003

Separate blazes destroy businesses, home

      A Greenwood strip mall lay in ruins Monday night after a fire destroyed four stores and damaged two others. No one was reported injured.  The roof collapsed on one end of a commercial building at Fairview Place strip mall. Perched on their aerial ladders, firefighters spent much of Monday evening trying to hose down the stubborn blaze and extinguish it.  Destroyed were Design Lighting & Supplies, Jack’s Pizza, Liberty Mutual and Classy Lassy Consignment Store. Two other businesses, Pella Windows and Investors Title Corp., appeared to have sustained heavy smoke damage.  The strip mall is at 2801 Fairview Place on the west side of State Road 135, between Fry and Fairview roads, across from Lo BilI Foods in White River Township.  The cause of the fire was still under investigation Monday night, and a damage estimate had not been calculated. Firefighters received the call at 7:13 p.m. and were on the scene four minutes later, said Battalion Chief Scott Cassin of the White River Township Fire Department.  A few customers and employees of Jack’s Pizza were leaving the building when fire trucks arrived. All other businesses were locked up for the night, Cassin said.  “When we pulled up, heavy fire was showing from the roof of Design Lighting.  It appeared to be above the ceiling line, up in the attic,” Cassin said. “And heavy smoke was venting from the eaves and vents around the rest of the building. It was heavy.”  Winds from the west blew the fire directly through the attic, Cassin said.  “We were trying to stop it from destroying the whole building,” he said.  Firefighters from Greenwood and Perry Township also responded, a total of 52 firefighters in all. But along with strong winds, water pressure posed problems.  “We had some low water pressure at the onset,” Cassin said. “So we had to shut down (State Road) 135 and bring in a supply line (from a hydrant) across the street to bolster that line.”  It was after 9 p.m. before the fire was under control.  See a related story and more photos HERE.    (Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal.)
 

     
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