STATter 911

All pictures by Nate Camfiord, Mutual Box Media

It seemed that way Monday night when Fairfax County, Virginia dealt with a fire in a shopping center at Route 50 and Gallows Road. It normally would have all of the elements of a good local news story, but with the Inauguration of Barack Obama the next morning, most local news organizations passed on covering this one.

The Yorktown Shopping Plaze is a short distance from the world headquarters of STATter 911 and I was alerted to the four-alarm fire by a local firefighter who is a regular reader. I went to sleep instead.

But Nate Camfiord, Mutual Box Media, wasn't as lazy as the person writing this stuff. Nate's pictures are on this page. More photos can be seen on thewatchdesk.com.

Here is the press release sent on Wednesday from the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department:

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department units responded to a commercial fire at approximately 10:40 p.m., Monday, January 19, 2009, in the Falls Church area of Fairfax County. The store, e Mart International Grocery, is located in the Yorktown Shopping Center, 8100 Arlington Boulevard.

Firefighters encountered fire and smoke showing through the roof of the one-story grocery store. A partial collapse of the roof occurred near the rear of the store where refrigeration units were located. The store received extensive fire, water, and smoke damage throughout. Several adjacent stores also sustained smoke and water damage. Firefighters brought the fire under control in approximately 90 minutes. The Incident Commander struck a fourth alarm, bringing over 120 firefighters to the scene. There were no injuries.

Damage is estimated at $4.5 million.

The fire is under investigation.

# posted by Dave Statter @ 12:12 AM