A commercial fire, called in at 3:38 a.m. this morning by a passing motorist, destroyed six businesses in a small strip mall located at the corner of Barnes and Miller Road. Upon arrival, crews found fire already traveling the length of the roof and heavy fire inside at least three businesses. A second alarm was called at 3:45 a.m., bringing approximately 60 firefighters to the scene. "Initially, crews prepared to enter the occupancies on the far west end, hoping they might be able to minimize the damage to those businesses," stated Karen Eubanks, Public Information Officer. "However, they were forced to switch to a defensive mode due to the fact that the fire had already breached the attic and was consuming the roof overhead. The roof fire, combined with heavy interior fire, made the building extremely unsafe for crews to enter." To extinguish the fire, firefighters utilized three aerial master streams placed around the approximate 10,000 square foot building. Although the fire was under control within 90 minutes, firefighters battled hot spots inside the building for about three hours. Barnes Road was closed during the incident and reopened at about 6:30 a.m.

The six businesses (and their specific street address) destroyed this morning included: Pavlock Chiropractic (7319); Teak Design - a teak wood furniture store (7321 and 7323); Cameloc Design – an interior design company (7325); Postal Annex (7327); Lucia’s – a cappuccino business (7329); and Joy Wok – Chinese restaurant (7331).

Fire Investigators believe that the fire damages could be as high as $1,000,000.

Shon Pereira, a volunteer firefighter, suffered a back injury while lifting equipment at the scene. He was transported by ambulance to Providence Medical Center where he was treated and released.