Flames rip through Strip Mall
Williamsburg firefighters work all night
Updated: Tuesday, 28 Jul 2009, 10:30 AM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 28 Jul 2009, 5:18 AM EDT
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Williamsburg firefighters, along with crews from several jurisdictions spent all of Tuesday morning battling flames at the Williamsburg Shopping Center on Richmond Road.
Investigators believe the fire may have started inside "Sal's By Victor" pizza shop just after 1a.m. "A passerby spotted the smoke and called 911," Williamsburg Fire Dept. Spokesman Eric Stone told WAVY.com. Stone said crews arrived on the scene about 4 minutes after the initial call.
Crews found heavy smoke at the scene. Lt. Barry Kopczynski and his team were the first to enter the building. "We had no fire conditions inside, [but] I knew I had fire in the area above our head in the void area, " Kopczynski explaineded, "it was weakening the metal trusses, and a collapse was evident that it was going to happen, so the best thing to do was to pull the crews out."
Crews fought the flames from the outside-in, in what's known as a defensive stance. Firefighters poured gallons of water on the flames from ladders towering over the roof. Kopczynski said a portion of the roof finally did collapse.
No one was injured in the collapse, however, two firefighters were hurt during other duties and transported to the hospital. One suffered a leg injury; the other had chest pains, Kopczynski said. Both have since been released from the hospital.
It took fire crews nearly five hours to get the flames under control, Stone said. "Wow," Thomas Snyder said to the intense flames. "That's the largest its been in quite a while," his brother Thomas told WAVY.com.
While no dollar amount has been assessed to the damage, the biggest loss witnesses said was for Victor Minichiello, owner of Sal's for the past 20 years. "The building has been here more than 30 years; this is a shame," he said off-camera. "I'm glad no one was hurt, but I'm just worried about my employees."
"This is demoralizing, Victor used to send us pizza on camping trips for scouts, "Michael Mylkavich said. "He's a very great guy," he noted of Minichiello.
Members of the local Fire Marshals Office are waiting to begin their investigation as fire crews continued to put out hot spots.
Minichiello said he thought the cause may be electrical because employees had recently cleaned vent hoods in the past few weeks. "We just closed at 11:30 last night."
No official cause had been released.
Several stores remained closed adjacent to Sal's while other stores, like the Bloom supermarket, opened on time.
WAVY.com's Derrick Rose is still at the scene. Katie Collett will be headed to Williamsburg later on. Look for their updates on WAVY.com and on WAVY News 10 Midday.
I first heard this story at about 5:58 AM this morning in bed on the radio. I was suprised, because the over 30 year old Williamsburg Shopping Center has fought through a lot of storms and hurricanes over the years, and its still stood strong. I think Sal's had the most damage, wiping the store out completely, and 2 others had roof damage. I don't know completely. Luckily they'll re-build it, even better.
Sal's by Victor is located in the Williamsburg Shopping Center on Richmond Rd. Sal's is located next to a Hallmark gift card store an Advance America center, as well as a Bloom grocery store that was a Food Lion for many years (my aunt worked there years ago when it was FL).
