Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 26, 1995 TAG: 9504260113
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Volunteer crews from throughout Henry and Franklin counties battled the fire, which began about 2 p.m.
According to Assistant Fire Chief George Turner, the fire began in a building that housed a steel manufacturer and quickly spread to the American Antique Mall.
The law offices of Young, Haskins, Mann & Gregory also were damaged, Turner said.
No one was injured, although residents along Maple Street and workers in the nearby Sara Lee Corp. plant were evacuated. Sparks ignited several brush fires, Turner said, but no additional buildings caught fire.
In 1990, American Furniture moved out of the red brick buildings, some of which were built 70 years ago, into a new facility just a few miles south of town.
The American Antique Mall, developed by auctioneer Ray Lambert, had just opened in February.
Community Development Coordinator Tom Harned watched the blaze from the roof of City Hall, just four blocks away.
"I went up about 4:30 and could still see fireballs roaring into the sky," he said.
Crews managed to contain the fire inside the buildings about 6:30 p.m., Turner said. He expected the interior to smolder throughout the night.
Turner said the cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
by CNB