Baltimore fire officials said it’s too soon to determine the cause of a Monday blaze that destroyed four stores in Edmondson Village Shopping Center, a 61-year-old Baltimore National Pike landmark trumpeted as the city’s first large strip mall.
The four-alarm blaze started about 9:15 a.m. in the Ashley Stewart Woman clothing store and quickly spread to a beauty supply store and a sandwich shop.
Shopkeepers watched helplessly as firefighters — who were forced from the buildings when a power line collapsed — battled the fire for more than three hours.
“The whole store is damaged,” said Riche Patel, owner of a Subway sandwich franchise. “It’s a bad feeling.”
No injuries were reported, but a dozen businesses — including a family clinic — were evacuated as a precaution.
Opened in 1947, the shopping center was the only planned, integrated shopping center in Baltimore under one ownership.
Plagued by tenant turnover and crime, the property was brought under new management with Miller Property Management about a year and a half ago.
A company representative who declined to give his name said Monday that the site was an expensive investment.
“We put a ton of money into it and there was more coming, but I don’t know what this is going to do to us,” he said.
Many customers said the center is an important part of the Edmondson Village community, within walking distance for residents without cars.
Sindy Lee, owner of a check-cashing business, clung to the arm of a family member as she watched smoke spread closer to her store.
“I’m sad for the proprietors,” said Dee Hawthorne, a customer of the Village Hair and Beauty salon. “She’s a small-business owner and this is devastating.”
Some owners speculated the fire could have been caused by aged electrical wiring. Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. was on the scene, along with about 40 fire and rescue vehicles.
Electricity was shut off in the area and traffic was diverted in both directions off Edmondson Avenue between Old Frederick Road and Athol Avenue.
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