FORT SMITH, Ark. --
An evening fire at the Middleton Carpet Connection and Cleaning Company heavily damaged the building and its contents.
A passerby spotted smoke coming from the building around 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, fire officials said an overloaded extension cord likely started the fire.
The Fort Smith business has been open for nearly 40 years. For the last 10 years, the company has been located on the corner of Towson Avenue and South B Street.
"That name has been out there a long time. My mother and father started it," said Jeffrey Middleton, who's worked at the family business since he was 13 years old.
The company made Fort Smith its home back in 1972.
Middleton said he left the building around 4:30. He learned of the fire about two hours later after receiving a call from a police officer.
"I pulled up (and) it was just engulfed in flames," Middleton said. "And of course my whole heart dropped then. I didn't know what to do."
Fire crews busted several of the buildings windows and broke through wood siding in their efforts to battle flames and heavy smoke.
"We use the foam now and it saturates everything pretty good and knocks it out real quick," said Fort Smith Fire Department Battalion Chief Bill Fant.
Bob Middleton, Jeffrey's father, said he was devastated by the destruction. He said the company offered full carpet service ranging from custom carpet design to carpet cleaning.
"I don't know if it's a a total loss, but evidently what the fire didn't get the smoke and the heat got the rest of it," he said.
The family doesn't know what insurance will cover but said they will re-open for business.
"Where there's an ending of something there's got to be a new beginning too," Jeffrey Middleton said.
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