A Frederick business’ warehouse roof collapsed during a fire early Wednesday morning, authorities said. The surrounding businesses survived mostly unscathed.
All firefighters evacuated before the collapse, and there were no injuries, Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services spokeswoman Sarah Campbell said in an interview later on Wednesday.
The warehouse of Potomac Tile & Carpet at 918 N. East St., where the fire occurred, was destroyed. The store and warehouse are in the middle of a strip mall.
“It took the whole warehouse,” Francine Burrier, the accounting manager for the business, said. “There’s some samples in the front, but those are all under water.”
Beams and pieces of warped metal were piled inside the roofless warehouse. On the loading dock and nearby were pieces of burnt and melted carpet, rubber, wood and tools.
Firefighters were sent to the scene at around 2:23 a.m., Campbell said.
Around noon, the smell of smoke still lingered. Around that time, something inside the warehouse began to burn and dripped onto the floor. Firefighters quickly extinguished it.
The warehouse is where all customer items are, Burrier said.
She said she had been at the store since 6 a.m. while the owners were out trying to figure out insurance details.
She found out about the fire when a warehouse employee arrived at work and saw the firetrucks, she said.
Burrier said she still doesn’t know what caused the fire. Authorities at the scene also didn’t say what caused the fire.
None of the business’ servers were damaged in the fire, so the customer database is still intact, she said. The owners taking steps to get the business back up and running.
Next door at LiveYoung Candle Company, owner Tawny Young said she was grateful that her business sustained little damage. There was some water damage in the back of the store and soot on the floor edges, she said.
“The firewall between the two buildings saved our store is what [firefighters] told me,” she said.
On the other side, at Daft McCune Walker, a land development business, the black-and-orange carpet squished under employees Jeff Swope and Rick Mantsch’s feet.
Like Young, their workplace suffered minimal damage. The business smelled of smoke. Two-thirds of the office carpet was seeping water.
“Luckily, we’ve tried all our computers which were on the floor and they’re all fine,” Swope said.
“We’re probably going to lose a couple days of work here,” Mantsch said.
The Frederick Police Department reported the fire to the Division of Fire and Rescue Services, Campbell said. Police saw fire coming from the rear roof of Potomac Tile & Carpet.
Fire and Rescue arrived shortly after, she said. A crew entered the building and started putting out the fire from the inside.
But as the fire spread, the roof began to collapse. Firefighters were evacuated, she said.
A second alarm was put out after the collapse, calling for more help, Campbell said. There was also a Rapid Intervention Dispatch put out, for additional personnel, she said.
With the roof collapsing, the outer walls of the building began to crack, as well, she said.
It took three hours to put out the fire, she said.
Campbell said the Frederick County Office of the Fire Marshal is looking into the damage from the fire, as well as what caused it.
The Office of the Fire Marshal could not be reached for comment.
Follow Clara Niel on Twitter: @clarasniel
