UPDATE: 7:15 p.m.
Firefighters battled a blaze in downtown Oxford Monday morning which destroyed a historic building that housed two businesses.
The call came in at 8:28 a.m., and Oxford Fire Department, with help from several area volunteer fire departments, had the fire under control by 10:40 a.m., according to information from city officials late Monday afternoon.
“The fire was extinguished at approximately 10:40 and controlled through the coordinated efforts of the Oxford Fire Department, the Antioch Fire Department, the Providence Fire Department, the Corinth Fire Department, and the Granville Rural Fire Department. Granville EMS was also present at the scene,” according to information sent from Oxford city officials.
Businesses near the 100 block of Williamsboro Street were evacuated and law enforcement agencies from the police department, sheriff’s office and N.C. Highway Patrol blocked off the area at Williamsboro and Main streets.
Alyssa Blair, Downtown Development Director, stated, “The fire from this morning has touched the heart of everyone in the business community as well as the community as a whole and the rallying behind them has already begun. The City of Oxford and Downtown Oxford Economic Development Corporation have begun searching for temporary locations for our affected businesses and will do everything possible to find additional resources to aid during this difficult time.”
ORIGINAL STORY
Oxford firefighters spent the morning battling a blaze downtown that has destroyed two businesses and was posing a threat to businesses on either side.
The fire broke out on the 100 block of Williamsboro Street between First National Bank and Milano’s restaurant near the heart of downtown Oxford. The two businesses are The Healing Haven and Farrar’s Jewelers, located at 121 ½ and 123 Williamsboro St., according to Granville County Chamber of Commerce Director Cynthia Ratliff.
Oxford Mayor Jackie Sergent said no one was inside, so, as yet, people are safe. “We are grieving for the tremendous loss – for the building which has so much meaning and history for the community and the owner and for the businesses within who were counting on the holiday shopping season to keep them strong,” Sergent said in a text message to WIZS News Monday morning.
According to Sergent, the building occupied by Healing Haven Massage is owned by Gaynelle Finch, and previously housed Finch Insurance Agency. “The fire is raging between ceilings…so (it’s) unreachable,” Sergent said about 10:15 a.m. “Our guys and multiple other agencies are keeping the water going in an attempt to save the buildings on either side.”
Those buildings on either side include an attorney’s office, a consulting firm, a health care agency and a bail bond agency.
By 11 a.m., firefighters were able to enter the second floor of the structure, according to Sergent, who was on the scene.
Oxford Downtown Development Director Alyssa Blair provided a brief statement to WIZS News Tuesday afternoon, saying that other several businesses had been affected by this morning’s fire.
“We do not have information on what started the fire and will inform the public as soon as the investigation has concluded,” Blair noted.
“We are grateful for our FD staff – that they are well trained and well equipped, and for the mutual aid responders who have come when needed, and we are praying for their safety, those affected, and that the damage may be minimized. I have faith that the community of Oxford will come together and support all those needing it in the days ahead that they might prevail and feel cared for.”
Ratliff drove down Williamsboro Street shortly before 8:30 this morning on her way to work. She told WIZS News in a telephone interview from the fire scene Monday morning that she smelled a faint smell of smoke when she arrived at her office, and thought briefly that it was coming from under her car’s hood.
Just a few minutes later, she was walking to the Hub for a meeting and she saw a ladder truck along Williamsboro Street.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Ratliff said, as she watched firefighters battle the fire. All surrounding businesses were evacuated, and the road is blocked. Services at the courthouse seem to be unaffected.
“It’s a horrible sight,” Ratliff said of the building in the aftermath of the fire.
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