LINVILLE, N.C. -- The Linville Mart may look fine from the outside, but inside black soot is everywhere and the owner says it’s all basically a total loss.
- Officials say it's unclear how the fire started
- It happened early Tuesday morning
- The heat inside melted security cameras and more
It’s unclear when the fire started, but the Avery County Fire Marshal says at around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, an employee came to the store and opened the door giving the fire oxygen so it grew. The fire department was able to put out the fire, but nothing inside could be saved.
“Terrible. It's a total disaster. The fire got so hot inside, the security cameras melted, light fixtures melted, and fell off the ceiling,” owner Phill Phillips said. “The wall socket over heated and started the fire you can see the damage it did to my coolers and freezers there.”
The heat inside the store melted nearly everything. A stack of plastic foam cups melted together making it almost unrecognizable.
Customers continued to show up Tuesday looking for fuel and rood. The owner says people depend on the store.
The owner says despite all of this in one year, he plans to rebuild and open the store as soon as possible.