W.Va. Video Lotto Parlor Damaged in Blaze
Source Charleston Daily Mail (West Virginia)
A fire gutted a video lottery parlor in Clendenin and damaged an apartment next door on Wednesday.
The fire destroyed Gold Diggers at 2 Elk Ave., Clendenin Assistant Fire Chief Glenn Summers said. Safety officials were planning to have the building demolished, he said.
Firefighters responded to the call about 11 a.m. and found the structure fully involved. Heavy smoke and flames were showing, and the fire also spread to a building next to Gold Diggers.
"The fire was a real cooker," Summers said.
The second story of the Odd Fellows Lodge on Elk Avenue suffered minimal damage, he said. The second story of the lodge is an apartment.
The man living in the apartment was home at the time of the fire but escaped unharmed before firefighters arrived, Summers said. The apartment is now considered uninhabitable.
"We had to turn the gas and electric off," he said.
The state Fire Marshal's Office was called in to investigate. The investigator could not determine the exact cause of the fire, but it does not appear to be suspicious.
Authorities believe the fire started in the ceiling of the video lottery parlor, Summers said.
Only one person was in the parlor when the fire broke out. A female employee was on the back deck and went back into the building and discovered smoke and flames, he said.
About 30 firefighters responded from the Clendenin, Pinch and Frame departments.
"The firefighters from Pinch and Frame deserve a lot of credit," Summers said. "They really helped us out."
It took firefighters about an hour to contain the blaze at the parlor and about 20 minutes at the apartment, he said.
No injuries were reported.
Contact writer Paul Fallon at [email protected] or 304-348-4817.
Copyright 2012 Charleston Newspapers
