There were no reported injuries in a Pennsylvania strip mall fire Monday morning, authorities say.
Firefighters within minutes limited the attack to the exterior at the shopping center called 512 Plaza in the 300 block of Blue Valley Drive in Washington Township, according to a Northampton County emergency dispatch supervisor. It appeared to burn from the center out, video and photos from the scene showed.
A drone image from above the businesses indicated significant damage across the shopping center and collapsed roofs. Smoke was still rising at 10 a.m. from the structure, but what fire was left was under control.
The fire was reported just before 8 a.m.
A Pennsylvania State Police fire marshal from Troop M is working with township police and the volunteer fire department on the investigation. There has been no cause announced.
Businesses in the shopping center include Set the Tone, Platinum Cutz, Optometrist Mary Eck, Magda Family Dental, Veronica Anthony Salon and Spa, and Bangor Podiatry.
On its Facebook page, Magda Family Dental said it was temporarily closed due to the fire and that “everyone is safe”.
Judi Bartholomew lives in the area and was shopping at Weis Markets when she saw the smoke.
“I thought it may have been the day care because it was in the distance. As I turned the road to come down to go back home I saw it was the strip mall,” she told lehighvalleylive.com in an email conversation.
She has fond memories of the shopping center’s tenants.
“I have used three of the businesses that were in the strip mall — Platinum Cutz and tattoo, Bangor Podiatry, and the eyeglass center. They were all really nice people, good businesses. It’s very sad.”
By Tony Rhodin | For lehighvalleylive.com
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