Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
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| Officials say intensity, speed of blaze unusual |
Area firefighters battled a blaze at the IDL market on Liberty Street in Martinsville on Sunday night. The blaze closed Liberty Street to traffic for several hours. (Bulletin photo by Mike Wray) |
Monday, December 29, 2008
By AMANDA BUCK - Bulletin Staff Writer
Flames that leapt as high as 70 feet engulfed a Martinsville convenience store Sunday night, leaving little in their wake but charred wood and concrete.
The IDL market on Liberty Street was destroyed in a blaze that began shortly before 8:30 p.m. Firefighters have not yet determined the fire’s cause.
Five people, including the market’s owner, Farhan Nazir, were inside when the fire began. Mike Hammock, a regular customer who lives nearby, said they were drinking coffee and talking when they heard popping noises.
They got up and went to the kitchen area of the store, where they saw flames near the ceiling. One of the men grabbed a fire extinguisher, but it had little effect.
“It wasn’t doing anything,” Hammock said. “It was like pouring water on a forest fire.”
Nazir and his cousin, Usman Sarwar, and Hammock and his wife, Detra, along with a clerk, left the store and immediately began trying to call 911.
“We came straight out,” Detra Hammock said. “I got in my car and when I looked up, it was already smoke coming through the roof.”
Nazir said the flames spread within minutes.
“I’ve never seen a fire that fast,” Nazir said. “In just two minutes, the building was gone.”
“It was just too late” to save anything, added Sarwar, who left in such a hurry that he didn’t have time to grab his jacket, which contained his wallet and some important documents.
Sarwar said he wanted to get the coat, but he asked himself, “What’s more precious to me?”
His safety won.
Martinsville Fire Marshal Ted Anderson said that decision was the right one.
“He did the right thing by leaving that, because if not he might not be here to request it,” Anderson said.
The intensity and speed of the fire suggest that it probably had been burning for some time before Nazir and the others realized there was a problem, the fire marshal said. Early indicators suggested the fire began high up, perhaps in the ceiling or attic, he said.
Determining the cause will be difficult because of the “extensive, extensive” damage the fire caused, he added.
“We don’t usually get fires this big in the city,” Anderson said, due to firefighters’ short average response time of about six minutes. Anderson and Fire Chief Kenneth Draper weren’t sure why this fire was different but said the investigation should help them determine that.
Jeremy Minter, who lives on Greyson Street, which runs along the top of a hill that overlooks the store, was on his way to visit a friend when he saw what he thought was steam coming from the area of the market. By the time he got onto Liberty Street and pulled over, flames already were visible, he said.
“That was crazy how quick that thing went up,” Minter said. “Within two minutes (the flames) just went up 60 to 70 feet in the air.”
Dino Meggaiz owns Smoker’s Choice, a convenience store directly across the street from the IDL market. Meggaiz said his first concern was that the gas and other fuel at the market might catch fire.
“I’m scared because the problem is the gas,” Meggaiz said as he watched firefighters attack the flames. “It started beside the kitchen, and the tank for the gas is over there.”
Draper and Anderson said firefighters were alert for problems related to fuel, but the design of the tanks meant the danger of an explosion was minimal.
“All the fuel is down underground,” Draper said. “The rubber hose could have fuel in it, but it’s nothing like you see on TV.”
The city electric department cut off power to the store shortly after the fire began, so there was no chance the pumps could accidentally be turned on, Draper said.
Firefighters manually disconnected a liquid propane tank behind the store and “managed to keep it cool and shut down,” according to Anderson.
Because the fire was so intense when firefighters arrived, and because they knew everyone had escaped, no one tried to go inside until the fire was out, Draper said.
“We went into defensive attack,” he said. “It wasn’t long after we got here that the whole roof came in. We did the safest thing — to surround and drown.”
Two ladder trucks, one from Martinsville and another from the Collinsville Volunteer Fire Department, set up on either side of the building and pumped water in from above while firefighters used hoses to douse other flames. At one point, brush on the hill behind the store ignited, but Anderson said those flames were quickly extinguished.
A crew from the Fieldale Volunteer Fire Department set up on the hill behind the store on Greyson Street to make sure nothing threatened the homes there, Draper said. The Axton and Dyers Store fire departments also responded, with a crew from Dyers Store manning the city fire station in case other calls came in.
Close to 50 firefighters responded, and the fire was under control within 45 minutes, Draper said. He estimated the store’s worth at $200,000 and said its contents might run another $50,000. The store was a total loss, and firefighters weren’t sure if anything inside would be salvageable.
Anderson expected to be on the scene until early this morning and to continue his investigation today. He said Nazir leases the property from Chuck Minter.
Draper and Anderson said they were grateful for the help from other departments and relieved that no one was hurt.
Nazir, Sarwar and the Hammocks were grateful as well.
“To look back at that and think we were in there is scary,” Detra Hammock said as she watched smoke billow from the store’s blackened walls. “I’m just thankful everyone got out OK.” |
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