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Lynchburg fire crews continued to battle hot spots Monday at the former Collector's Lair and the Vault. (Tim Saunders/WDBJ7 / January 28, 2013) |
Lynchburg fire crews continued putting out hot spots Monday from a Saturday fire that destroyed the Collector’s Lair on Fort Avenue.
The building was torn down Sunday following the Saturday fire.
Fire investigators are going through the debris to determine where the fire started. They believe they have isolated the spot where the fire began.
Investigators have not been able to determine what started the fire.
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UPDATED: 2:25p.m. Saturday
Nearly 7-hours after crews were first called to the fire on Fort Avenue, there was still work to be done.
"Around 4:30 this morning (Saturday), crews responded for a smoke odor/possible structure fire found heavy smoke conditions in the building behind me in the basement," explains Captain Danny Williams of Lynchburg Fire Department.
That fire that started in the basement, worked its way upstairs.
Nearly 3-dozen firefighters worked in frigid conditions to keep the fire at the Collector's Lair and the Vault from spreading to other nearby buildings as owner James Lair looked on.
"There's just not words because you don't even know where to begin. You just look at it and you can see right through the whole building," says Lair pointing.
Lair has owned the collectibles business for 25-years, for the last 10-years its been operating at this spot in Lynchburg.
Lair says he was finishing up for the night when he realized something was wrong.
Explains Lair, "I was working real late and as I was getting ready to leave, I smelled smoke, from the basement. And, went down and couldn't get to wherever the fire was and came back and called 911."
Lair got out and wasn't hurt.
And, he says his kids, who are usually in the building, were thankfully home in bed.
But, in the light of day, Lair's taking it all in and wondering what's next.
"Wanna thank all our customers for the 25-years of business and we hope to be back at some point," says Lair.
Investigators are still looking into the cause of the fire, but Lair says the building was worth 450-thousand dollars.
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Firefighters are on the scene of a fire in Lynchburg.
Police say the call came in at 4:19 a.m. Saturday morning.
The building on fire is at 5924 Fort Avenue in Lynchburg. It's a building known as The Collector's Lair.
As of 11:15 a.m., they are still on scene.
WDBJ7 has a crew on the way and will provide the latest details as soon as we get them.
