Cause of Hermann antique shop fire unknown

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The cause of a fire that destroyed an antique shop in Hermann can't be determined after the building collapsed.

Firefighters from multiple agencies were called to Hermann in Gasconade County on Monday morning to fight the blaze on East 1st Street. The building suffered a partial collapse from the fire.

State fire marshals have classified the fire's cause as "undetermined" because of the extent of the damage, Missouri Department of Public Safety spokesman Mike O'Connell wrote in an email.

The owner of Hermann's Attic Antique Mall posted a message about the fire on the store's Facebook page.

"I hope we can smile together again, I just don't know where, or when," a message attributed only to the owner, Scott, says. "This is not the way I wanted it to end."

The message says the shop was in Hermann for 15 years.