Fire inspectors condemned an entire business plaza Wednesday, hours after a suspicious blaze set in front of a furniture store caused more than $1 million in damages.
Witnesses said the fire started on two sofas left outside The Women's Center Furniture and More shop located in the 253 N. Babcock St. plaza, Local 6 News reported.
"It's plausible that it was intentionally set but not definite," said Assistant Fire Chief Greg Anglin of the Melbourne Fire Department. "In effect, it takes out the livelihood of the people who worked at the six or seven businesses in there."
The fire started about 10:18 p.m. Tuesday and took two hours for firefighters to bring the blaze under control.
One firefighter hurt his ankle and was sent to the hospital for treatment.
Jenny Gessler, the executive director of The Women's Center, the organization that owned the shop, drove to the plaza after learning about the fire earlier Wednesday.
"They're saying it might be suspicious," Gessler said. "I don't know if we were targeted or if it was just a matter of opportunity for someone. Staring at the burned out kitchen ovens near the front window of the store's now heat-warped metal frame."
Much of the smoke-damaged furniture inside the gutted shop sat in heaps of soggy ash and broken glass.
The center, which provides temporary housing for women in abusive or transitional situations, allowed clients to work at the shop for job experience.
Packed with used sofas, curios, and appliances, the shop brought in about $9,000 a month for the group.
"We were training women at that store ... now it's going to take us a while to get restarted. I'd really like to think that this was an accident," Gessler said during a break from talking on the cell phone.
Others who worked at surrounding shops were stunned to find that they would be without work - just a week from Thanksgiving and the beginning of the Christmas season.
"It's going to be hard for me. I have to find another place to work," said Carmen Acosta, a hairstylist who rented space at A Hair Shop salon. By mid-Wednesday morning, she was going through the smoke-damaged shop and taking away rollers and other equipment.
"We're all going to lose with this but I trust God. He will provide one way or another," Acosta said.
A few yards away, firefighters climbed a ladder and used a buzz saw to cut away the portions of the façade's green metal roof peeled back by the flames from Tuesday's fire.
The pungent smell of burned plastic, metal and wood continued to fill the air, even hours after the fire gutted the center of the 20,000 square foot plaza.
Other tenants affected included a paint store, a tile shop and another furniture shop.
"They've already condemned the building," said Don Dever, the property manager for the Prime Reality Trust owned plaza.
"It's probably going to take a month to rehabilitate the structure."
Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
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