WATERBURY, Vt. (AP) -- Police on Friday were investigating a fire that destroyed a business complex.
Waterbury fire crews responded to the blaze around 1:30 a.m. Thursday, according to Waterbury Fire Chief Gary Dillon. Flames were already shooting through the roof of the building by the time firefighters arrived. No one was in the building at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported.
"There is nothing left of this building,'' Dillon said Thursday. ``It's a total loss.''
Coffin's TV, 1st Choice Video, Jimmz Pizza and Lydia's Smokehouse Grill each rented space in the 6,000-sqaure-foot building owned by Peter O'Brien. Dillon said the landlord and tenants each had insurance. The 1.2-acre lot and building was assessed at $574,800 on Waterbury's 2004 grand list.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Dillon said the fire likely started in the kitchen of Lydia's Smokehouse Grill, a new restaurant that has been serving customers for less than a month.
Tina Coffin, co-owner of the TV sales and repair shop, surveyed the wreckage late Thursday morning. The Coffin family built the building sometime in the mid- to late-1980s, she said. They subsequently sold the building but continued to rent space in it. ``Looks like we lost everything,'' Coffin said. ``I guess we'll have to start all over again.''
