Fire Damages Liquor Store In Plantation Strip Mall

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FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - Fast moving flames ripped through a business in a Plantation strip mall overnight.

When crews arrived at the shopping center at 27 E Acre Drive around 1:30 a.m. they found heavy smoke and fire in a liquor store.

"We had heavy smoke coming from predominantly the liquor store which is in the center of the mall," said Plantation Fire battalion chief Joel Gordon.

The property manager, Scott Harringer, said he got a call from the mall's owner around 1:45 a.m. and he rushed over.

"You could clearly see the red flash of the flame through the window pane," he said. "They were on the roof, they were spraying water everywhere, there were firefighters everywhere, in the building, on the building."

The fire was located in the rear of the store which sustained heavy damage. Firefighters had to cut through the roof to get to it.

"We could hear them cutting through the roof to expose any potential embers," said Harringer,.

Firefighters had it out in about an hour. The liquor store sustained heavy damage. There was also smoke damage to the stores on either side of it.

"The flames went out but it continued to smoke for probably two more hours," said Harringer,.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. No one was hurt.