Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 20, 1994 TAG: 9401200227
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
The fire broke out about 9 p.m. Jack Beville, a fire investigator for Roanoke County, said he wouldn't know the likely cause of the fire until today.
Bent Mountain Fire Chief Randy Wimmer said the single-story concrete building was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. Besides the Bent Mountain crew, firefighters from Vinton, Cave Spring, Back Creek, Clearbrook and Floyd County battled the blaze. Fifty firefighters and eight trucks were at the scene.
The cold weather hindered their efforts. Frozen connections made fire hydrants useless. Instead, firefighters used water from pumper trucks and, later, from a pond behind the store.
The roof collapsed as firefighters tried to pull wire mesh from the front of the store.
The store's owner, Tony Montuori - who also owns New York Pizza in Vinton - sat on a rock pile nearby with his face buried in his hands. He couldn't estimate the store's value. "I've never been in this kind of situation before," he said.
A main electrical line into Floyd County runs over the store. Wimmer said he was told by Appalachian Power Co. workers that heat from the fire could bring the line down and black out all of Floyd County.
Firefighters sprayed water into the air between the store and the power line to keep the flames away from it, he said.
"The building is a total loss," Wimmer said. "When we got here, everything froze up on us, but we still did everything we could."
by CNB