Fire at Total Health and Rehabilitation Center in Fulton under investigation
FULTON, Mo. (KMIZ)
People who live near a Fulton business that went up in flames Monday night say the experience was frightening.
The fire at Total Health Rehabilitation Center -- chiropractor's office in Fulton -- was still under investigation Tuesday.
State fire marshals were investigating inside and outside the building Tuesday afternoon, searching for a cause.
Total Health and Rehab is located in the 700 block of South Business 54 in Fulton.
ABC 17 News spoke with Brian Hoselton, a chiropractor at the center who says the future of the center is unknown as of now.
In regard to employees at the center, Hoselton said that employees will get their paychecks, but might have to end up filing for unemployment.
"We're still really early in that phase," said Hoselton. "I don't know how long it would take me to get something back up and going... they might end up being looking for different jobs for now, everything's really up in the air," he continued.
In regard to patients, Hoselton says he will most likely help patients relocate to different offices to get the care they need.
"I will probably work with them to see if we can get them, you know, move to other clinics for what they what their needs are and help them just continue on their process and making sure they get improvement where they need it," he said.
Hoselton said he and the employees are like family and are grateful for the abundance of support the center has received from the community and will continue to take this process day by day.
Shannon Threatt, who lives next door, said she was scared for her and her neighbors as she watched the flames.
"I was very concerned and that's why we were watching in the first place … the fire department was spraying down the neighbor's fence because the fire was getting so close to the fence, they sprayed the trees as well," Threatt said.
Fulton Assistant Fire Chief Russell Sing said the department was called for a structure fire around 9 p.m. Monday. Firefighters began spraying the fire using multiple lines and engines but had to pull back due to dangerous conditions inside the burning building.
"After getting water on the fire for a while, conditions got worse and we had to evacuate the firefighters for their safety," Sing said.
Threatt said neighbors and spectators lined the streets in front and behind the building as it burned.
"It was wild, like something out of a movie really," Threatt said.
Threatt says the Total Health Rehabilitation Center's parking lot is usually full of cars, but was closed on Monday to pave the driveway. The center also posted on its Facebook page that it was closed Monday.
Sing estimates it should take fire marshals a full day or two to find the cause. He also said no firefighters or spectators were hurt.
