Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 29, 1994 TAG: 9411290081
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-6 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: STEPHEN FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Short
Above her, the inside of the Oriental Food Market was an ugly ruin of charred wood, crumpled metal, and scattered seeds, garbanzo beans, and the remains of other food products she and her husband normally sell at their North Main Street shop.
The business portion of the two-story building fell victim Sunday to a blaze that, according to preliminary results, was started by a space heater in a storage space, said Blacksburg Fire Chief Keith Bolte. The cost of damages is estimated at $80,000.
Firefighters arrived at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, Bolte said. Bolte said Chen-Chi Shing may have tried to extinguish the blaze himself, but "it was too much fire then for them." It took the department about a half hour to put out the fire, although firefighters were unable to prevent the store from being virtually a total loss.
Monday, Shing said she was uncertain what insurance would cover and was trying to salvage a little bit from the frozen foods by selling them out of her basement.
Fortunately, Shing, her son and daughter were uninjured. The family also saved its two puppies. Her husband, Radford professor Chen-Chi Shing, suffered some cuts and minor burns.
And fortunately, they have a new location. Within a couple of weeks, Shing said she hopes to be operating the business next door, in a smaller building the couple also owns.
"We have to move," Shing said. "The fire has been a lot."
by CNB