PORT ORANGE, Fla. (July 20,2010) -- A body was found among debris inside a Port Orange restaurant gutted by fire on Tuesday, investigators said.
WESH 2's Claire Metz spoke with employees of the restaurant, who worry the owner, Marino Sagalis, may have been inside. They said the owner had not been seen since the fire broke out.
"It's just devastating. I just can't believe it, tears me up just to think about it," restaurant customer Mary Godfrey said.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the victim's identity and said the person was burned so badly, police can not say with certainty whether it's a man or a woman.
Tearful customers and restaurant workers watched as investigators combed through the wreckage of the Biscuits and Gravy restaurant on Nova Road. The restaurant caught fire at about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, destroying it and the strip mall where it is located.
Several businesses were destroyed in the blaze, including a beauty salon and a vacant convenience store.
In January, WESH 2 interviewed the restaurant owner after a man drove a car into the business. Friends said he was distraught over a pending divorce and the loss of the business to his wife.
"I think that would make just about anybody despondent, because that was his life -- he loved the place," friend Claris Sweat said.
Investigators with the state Fire Marshal's Office said it appears an arson dog alerted on some kind of accelerant on the west side of the building, but because of the extensive damage, tests will have to confirm that.
"The roof had collapsed on parts of the building, and due to the roof collapsing, we had a lot of debris that had fallen down," Fire Marshal investigator Amelia Bowling said. "With the heat, some of it had melted in to each other."
If indeed the victim is Sigalis, many wonder if he set the fire, rather than risking his beloved business.
An autopsy on the victim is expected to be performed Wednesday.
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