Two-Alarm Fire Destroys Store
***UPDATE FRIDAY 9:52 A.M.***South Callaway Fire Protection chief Jeff Wallendorff tells ABC 17 News they believe the cause of the fire was electrical problems. Investigators say it started in the attic and flames quickly shot through the roof.About one-third of the building has significant structural damage and the rest has smoke damage. Wallendorff says the owner is planning on rebuilding.***UPDATE 5:55 P.M.***ABC 17 News was able to catch up with one firefighter who was at the scene Wednesday night and he believes the fire could have been electrical.Neighbors who live near the convenience store tell us they were woken up last night with sirens all around and flames shooting out the roof.”I woke my husband up I said ‘Jim, you got to get up’ I said ‘there’s a fire out here.’ I saw all these flashing lights, I thought maybe it was a sheriff or something out here,” Cheryl Jenkins says as she looks about 100 feet over at the burnt building.Firefighters say all of the convenience store’s workers left the building about an hour before the fire started. But some neighbors say that isn’t the normal operations there. It’s leaving some with questions about what happened.”There’s at least usually someone there cleaning from 9 P.M. until 11 P.M., 12 A.M. of the night,” Jenkins explains. “They weren’t even bothering to clean last night?”***ORIGINAL STORY***Callaway County fire crews are calling part of the CC Pit Stop convenience store at 8321 Highway CC near Steedman a total loss.Fire crews responded to reports of flames shooting through the roof just around 10:45 p.m. Wednesday and quickly called for mutual aid backup from Central Callaway, issuing a second alarm.South Callaway Fire Chief Jeff Wallendorff told an ABC 17 News crew at the scene the other half of the building has smoke damage.The store had just undergone renovations and reopened over the summerAt 1 a.m., a fire marshal was en route to the scene to start the investigation into what caused the blaze. No one was injured in the fire.Stay with ABC 17 News for updates Thursday.
