Fire guts Faison storefront
By Bonnie Edwards
Published in News on July 26, 2006 1:48 PM
FAISON -- A fire gutted a business in downtown Faison in the wee hours of the morning today, and buildings on either side were damaged by smoke.
Faison firefighters got a call at 3:10 a.m. to a small Hispanic grocery store at 108 W. Main Street, across the street from the fire station.
The cause of the fire was unknown, said Faison Fire Chief Glenn Jernigan, who added that the investigation is continuing.
The building is owned by J.E. Andrews Jr. The business owner is Sofia Cobarruhis.
Jernigan said he could not estimate the amount of damages this morning, but he said the entire inside of the structure was destroyed.
Firewalls between the building and the structures alongside prevented the fire from spreading, Jernigan said.
Firefighters were on the scene until nearly 9 a.m., he added.
Firefighter Jeff Albright said some of the volunteer firefighters who live in town reported being covered by smoke as soon as they stepped from their doors at home.
"The smoke covered the town. The EMS crew upstairs said they smelled the smoke inside the fire station as soon as they came downstairs. It was probably going for a while before anybody saw it, because of the time of day," Albright said.
No one was injured.
Mutual aid was provided by volunteer units from Calypso, Warsaw, Oak Wolf, Mount Olive and Dudley.