LEWISTON, N.Y. (WIVB) — On Wednesday morning, three businesses were destroyed by a fire in Lewiston.
Vintage Barber Shop, Sue’s Frame of Mind and SoullyCreated Boutique were the businesses impacted by the fire.
Fire crews were dispatched to a transformer fire on the street’s 700 block just after 6 a.m. There, flames were seen coming from the front of the building. Crews were able to get into a number of businesses, as well as a second-floor apartment, but were pulled out due to the structure being unstable.
“With buildings being remodeled over and over again,” said Lewiston Fire Company Chief Spencer Lilly. “We found some of the walls, nearly three levels of drywall and other type of materials that we had to bust through to be able to get to the fire.”
No one was injured. While firefighters were at the scene, the Tim Hortons next door donated coffee, donuts and breakfast sandwiches to them.
As a result of the fire, Center Street, between 7th and 8th streets, was temporarily closed down. The road closure began shortly before 6:30 a.m. and it fully reopened about four hours later.
“It’s sad to see something like this happen at this time during the holidays,” Lewiston Chamber of Commerce Board Chair and local business owner Matt Villnave said. “It’s sad to see something like this happen at this time during the holidays.”
Brickyard BBQ co-owner Ken Bryan said the community rallied to help his business rebuild after a fire at the restaurant. Leaders expect the same will happen this time.
“It’s devastating to see the poor businesses this time of year have a tragedy like that,” he said. “It’s been a little over two years for us and we’re still trying to get back in our feet.”
The Lewiston Christmas Walk is scheduled for this weekend, and that is expected to still happen.
The fire remains under investigation.
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