Name | Discount FLOWERS & GIFTS [1] | |
Gender | Male | |
HIST | Building recovering from '13 fire MATT WALSH / THE SUMTER ITEM Contractor Bobby Rodgers renovates the walls in the former flower shop that was destroyed by a fire about a year ago. BY TYLER SIMPSON tyler@theitem.com (803) 774-1295 It's been a year since Discount Flowers & Gifts on the corner of West Liberty and North Sumter streets burned in what was labeled by fire officials at the time as one of worst fires ever seen in Sumter's downtown district. "It was a disaster," said Stan Ross, who rented the space for the flower shop. The fire - which engulfed the two-story building on April 9, 2013 - required 50 firefighters from Sumter Fire Department to respond, and neighboring businesses sharing a roof with the flower shop were also affected as the smoke from the fire managed to spread to those businesses. "Naturally, when it happened, the fire department had to evacuate everybody," said Downtown Development Manager Howie Owens. Though the buildings were damaged, none of the employees or customers were injured, though one firefighter did suffer a minor non-life threatening injury. The fire department estimated the damage at $500,000, and reports indicate about $1 million in property was saved. John Nesbitt, owner of Reliable Pawn Shop, which was three stores away from the flower shop, remembers the damage the smoke caused to his shop. "I was scared to death," Nesbitt said. "I was so scared that when I dialed 911, my hand was shaking. I couldn't dial the numbers." While the damage wasn't so severe that he had to close his store, the smoke did cause $150,000 in damages to his shop. It took several days of cleaning and renovating but the pawn shop eventually recovered. What used to be Discount Flowers & Gifts is also recovering as renovations to the building are currently in development. Ross said the renovations have been going on for about three months, though he has yet to determine what kind of establishment will fill the space. "It could be anything," Ross said. "It would be good for any kind of business because we are remodeling it generically, so just about anything could go in there." Nesbitt said he would like to see any type of retail establishment fill the space, as he said it is something that downtown Sumter needs. "We just don't have much retail downtown right now," Nesbitt said. "We really need to get retail downtown because we need to get more people downtown." Ross said he expects the renovations to be completed by the end of next month. Posted in Business on Sunday, April 13, 2014 [1] | |
_UID | 401477D855D94457856769EEA2C231C206B3 | |
Died | 9 Apr 2013 | fire in Sumter, South Carolina [1] |
Person ID | I291698 | Singleton and other families |
Last Modified | 15 Apr 2014 |
Family | Flowers & Gifts DISCOUNT | |
_UID | 57BAA765834548998718D6098D1C0F3D39D9 | |
Last Modified | 2 Mar 2024 | |
Family ID | F195714 | Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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