Aug. 5—A fire at the Burnside Plaza Friday night severely damaged multiple businesses, and resulted in the closure of South U.S. 27 for several hours.

According to Chief James Martin of the Burnside Fire Department, the fire started at around midnight, going into Saturday morning. He added that no one was present at the site of the blaze when it occurred as far as he knew, and that no one was injured in the incident.

The Burnside Plaza is located along South U.S. 27, effectively across from the Stonebrook Pavilion, and restaurants like Guthrie's Grill and Reno's Roadhouse.

Martin noted that the fire effectively destroyed The Barn, which operates as a vendors' hub, calling it a "total loss" as it was the main area of the fire.

"The state fire marshal's office is investigating it right now," said Martin. "... It's too early a time to tell (what the cause would be)."

While any official determinations have yet to be released, Martin said it's believed that the fire started around the center or front of the building, around the entranceway.

Other buildings surrounding The Barn were also affected. The Whippoorwill Diner suffered smoke and water damage, as did the Good Samaritan Thrift Store.

"Fortunately, we were able to keep the fire from spreading to those two buildings," said Martin. "Once we got on the scene, we were met with heavy fire conditions. Crews were hooking to hydrants there; we had a hydrant there on the property."

Martin said they did have to stretch a large hose across all four lanes of South U.S. 27, which meant closing the road down at that point. He said it had to stay closed for about four hours.

A number of other fire departments and agencies were called in to assist, including firefighters from Bronston, Ferguson, Mt. Victory, Parkers Mill, Somerset, Tateville, and White Lily. Burnside Police and the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office worked the scene to provide traffic assistance, the Somerset-Pulaski County Special response Team provided drone coverage, and the Somerset-Pulaski County Rescue Squad provided air units and assisted with firefighter rehab and water supply. Burnside Little League and Burnside city workers also helped with water, Martin noted.

"We're very thankful for everybody that came out and helped us and supported us," said Martin.

Firefighters were on the scene for about seven hours, noted Martin.

On Monday, Dennis Greer, who owns The Barn as a business (not the building itself) with wife Jody, spoke to the Commonwealth Journal about the fire. The two have operated The Barn for about two and a half years, with about 100 consignors and vendors selling out of it.

From his conversations with investigators, Greer said preliminary indications have it believed that the fire originated with a Pepsi cooler just inside the door of the business

"They found the cooling fan motor that was down at the bottom of the refrigerator unit was locked up tight," he said, adding that that camera footage also contributes to this determination.

Greer said he doesn't know yet what the future will hold for them as owners of The Barn.

"I spent the day (Sunday) just driving up and down U.S. 27 doing nothing, just me and my son," he said, describing how he emotionally processed the massive loss. "I'd pull into random parking lots and just sit there."

The insurance is another issue. Greer said they had "bare-minimum" coverage, and many of the items and collections that were in the store at the time of the fire are worth as much or more than he expects to be able to get from his insurance coverage.

"I had put lifelong family (items) from Dad, Grandfather, just antiques in there that were worth a fortune that we couldn't even cover," he said. "If we had a million dollar or a half-million dollar policy it wouldn't have even covered it, and we don't. ... We lost our life, so I don't know where we go."

The vendors are also affected, he noted, and aren't covered by the store's insurance. Many of them however have tried to give back the last checks they received from The Barn to help them out in their hour of need, noted Greer.

"We're grateful to all of them," he said of The Barn's customers and vendors. "... We've got a list (of people) just waiting for the insurance to clear that are ready to just go in there, boots and gloves, and do whatever we've got to do to start picking it all up. ... We have a long list of loyal customers that are just doing everything. They're bringing food certificates by at night."

Making it worse is that the Greers are having to monitor the site 24 hours a day because some are trying to loot good from the site.

"I don't know how many we've personally caught with hands full of stuff trying to go out the back," he said. "(There are) piles and piles of stuff in there they're trying to loot through. ... It's crazy."

Greer said that his wife has long been the type of person to "find people who were homeless, sleeping out in their cars and put them up in a hotel or take them up the road and buy them dinner. And now here we are, on this side of the fence."

He added, "Other than being broken, I don't know where we go."

Charles Wright, owner of the Whippoorwill Diner, said that a space he operated as a second dining room adjacent to The Barn was a "100 percent loss." Elsewhere, the restaurant suffered ceiling damage, and smoke and water impact.

"It's in pretty rough shape," he noted. He said the restaurant would have to be shut down for a period of time to repair the damage.

"My whole left wall is exposed to the elements because it was attached to The Barn, and that was one of the hottest spots," he said. "I've lost all my inventory, my food. ... I don't know how long it's going to take or what it's going to entail."

The Good Samaritan Thrift Store is a non-profit entity that benefits worthy causes. Its Executive Director, Angi Gates, said that one part of their building was "completely destroyed," where the recent Back to School Bash was held.

"There was quite a bit of merchandise there," she said. "We've probably lost about 70 percent of our merchandise."

However, Gates gave thanks to God for doing "some miraculous things with some doors and some walls, and if it weren't for Him, our whole building would be done. We wouldn't have just lost part of our building."

Gates said Good Samaritan would also have to shut down for a period of time, and asks for the community to pray for them and not give up on them.

"We plan to keep going," she said. "... We'll come back and we'll be as strong as ever.

"We just need a lot of prayers right now, as well as the Burnside Plaza," she added. "We're all a big family, and when one hurts, we all hurt."