A huge fire at a commercial building in Delta destroyed five businesses on Saturday.
Delta Fire and Emergency Services sent six fire trucks to the scene as the two-alarm fire – which started at about 3 p.m. in a building at 93A Avenue and 120 Street – sent huge clouds of smoke into the air.
It took crews hours to battle the blaze. They continued to put out some remaining hot spots Sunday afternoon, according to Delta Fire Battalion Chief Brent Thomas.
The destroyed building was a cinder block structure that was home to five businesses, including a shop that smokes meat and the Aroma Euro Deli.
The fire appears to have started in the smoke shop and spread to the rest of the building, Delta Fire Chief Dan Copeland said.
“We had a roof collapse fairly early on and when that happens, it becomes a tough fight,” he said.
PHOTO Gallery: Aerial shots of a fire at a commercial building in Delta on Nov. 12
Twitter users near the scene reported stalled traffic and seeing large flames shortly after the blaze began.
At about 6 p.m. on Saturday, Delta Police tweeted traffic had been shut down in the area and advised the public to avoid it, but all lanes were open again about two hours later.
Aroma Euro Deli owner Will Horvath said he was upset by the loss of his business and unsure if he would rebuild the deli, which opened about a decade ago.
“My first thought is that it’s too much,” said Horvath, who sold eastern European specialties – including pickles and homemade sausages – at the business. The shop was decorated with memorabilia from his native Romania, as well as other Eastern European countries.
Betty Krasny, who helped run the deli, explained they had to run out of the shop in a matter of minutes on Saturday afternoon, without a chance to save anything.
“So much effort and heart and soul,” she said as she began to cry. “It’s hard to see it go up in flames like that.”
With files from Pat Bell and Grace Ke