Coquitlam Fire and Rescue crews were busy mopping up a blaze Thursday morning that tore through a strip mall at Barnet Highway and Falcon Drive.
The stubborn fire, which destroyed two restaurants - Pallas Athena Greek and Sushi Mori - broke out at around 1:30 a.m. and firefighters battled through the night, finally knocking down the blaze at around 8:30 a.m.
Coquitlam Fire Chief Wade Pierlot told The Tri-City News the fire likely started in one of the restaurants and moved into the ceiling.
"When crews arrived, they found it heavily charred," he said. "They started fighting it but the ceiling started to cave in on them so they went defensive."
As of Thursday morning, investigators were still on scene and Pierlot said that it was too early to determine the cause of the blaze. No injuries had been reported and several shops remained closed.
Older buildings, Pierlot added, usually do not have fire barriers in the ceiling, creating a wide open space for fire to travel through, before dropping down into the various businesses.
"When it gets up there, it gets quite a void," he said. "We suspect it started in one of the restaurants but that could be incorrect. Fire does travel."
The blaze caused several businesses to close Thursday, and possibly for longer, while they awaited a more thorough investigation from authorities, and repairs.
SHOPS CLOSED
Above, the remains of the strip mall after Thursday morning's fire. - TRI-CITY NEWS PHOTO
Peggy Mazzarolo, owner of Pallas Athena, said she received a call at about 2 a.m. Thursday from her security company informing her that an alarm had gone off at the restaurant's back and front doors. But when she arrived, it was not an intruder she confronted but an inferno.
"My beautiful restaurant - gone," said Mazzarolo, who expressed concern about 14 employees who are now out of work.
Mazzarolo and her husband purchased the restaurant four years ago and were in the process of building up a strong business.
"It was certainly getting there," said Mazzarolo, who said with the building destroyed, she is not sure what the next step will be.
Next door at Gogo Custom Jewelry, water damage was the issue and Raymond Shi, whose wife Gogo Jiang, makes the jewelry, said he was waiting to get in to further assess the damage. But from what he had been able to see, the ceiling, floor and counters were all soaked.
"It's not ready to re-open," said Shi, who was worried about the damage to the family-owned business that opened just three years ago.
Another shop, further down from the fire was also closed. Nancy Trinh, owner of COA (Centre of Attention) Nails, said she was waiting to hear from the landlord as to whether she could get in and assess the damage or possibly re-open the shop.
Calls to Sushi Mori were forwarded to a manager while the badly-damaged restaurant remains closed.
-with files from Diane Strandberg
