NORFOLK, Va. - Norfolk Fire and Rescue responded to a second alarm commercial fire.
Heavy smoke could be seen from our Norfolk tower cameras as seen in the below Facebook Live.
Neighbors off Church Street are saddened to see their local Family Dollar store up in smoke. But employees tell our News 3 reporter Kelsey Jones that if they didn't act quickly the situation could've been much worse.
"It was like a blast like a bomb," said a customer who was inside Family Dollar.
The customer said, "It was a big explosion inside the building. That's when I start moving behind the door of the employees, and when I come out the store the windows just explode out and a bunch of black smoke just came everywhere."
This all happening at the shopping center in the 700 block of Church Street Monday afternoon. Crews were dispatched at 5:25 p.m., and a second alarm was called by 5:33 p.m.
"You have so much stuff in there that's easy to catch a fire," said the customer.
Norfolk Fire and Rescue has not released details on what sparked the fire. Our reporter Kelsey Jones caught up with the assistant manager at Family Dollar. He would not comment on how the fire started but says within seconds he called 9-1-1.
"I started yelling fire and made sure all staff and customers were exiting the building. I attempted with a fire extinguisher to put it out but it was out of control," said Jay, Family Dollar assistant manager.
Kelsey Jones asked residents, "Is this a big loss for the community?"
"Yes, it is! Because basically, this is the only store that they can come shop at to get some milk, cereal, different stuff like that," said a concerned resident.
There is still an open investigation looking into the cause of the fire that forced the Family Dollar location to close, according to a spokesperson for Norfolk Fire-Rescue. The spokesperson told News 3, "The fire appears to be an intentionally set fire on a display shelf near the front of the store."
Stay with News 3 for updates.
Crews still on scene of the working fire at 700 Block of Church St. A quick response and attack helped to prevent the spread of fire to the adjacent businesses. They are working towards fire control now and will begin the investigation by the FM Group. pic.twitter.com/MnsJncR406
— Norfolk Fire-Rescue (@norfolkfireresc) September 5, 2022
Stay with us for updates.
