Downtown fire destroys vacant building

By Samantha Langley
Asst. Around the Town editor

September 27, 2012

By Samantha Langley

The fire at this business on Third Street leaves little to be salvaged.

On Sept. 14 around 2 a.m., a fire broke out in an office located beside Swag City on Third Street.

Pembroke Fire Marshall William Lowry said that the fire was set by someone who is unknown.

When the fire was set, there was no business occupying the building. However, there is currently no one being held responsible.

"The fire was easy to put out and it was fairly routine," Lowry said.

The exact damage to the building has yet to be determined, but Lowry said that it will be relatively small since there was nothing in the building. The building itself is partially destroyed.

Ishamel Abdel works at Swag City and said that it was a "shock" for him when he came into work the next morning to find the building gone.

"When I got here, the fire had already happened. Another smaller fire started later in the day, and the fire trucks came back and put it out," Abdel said.

By Samantha Langley

The building had been a part of the Sanderson family for two generations.

Thayle Sanderson owns the building and said that the emotional damage has been harder for her and her family than the physical damage.

The building was originally owned by Sanderson's father, and it burned down once in his lifetime.

He rebuilt the store, and after his death his wife took it over.

The store burned down again and, according to Sanderson, her mother gave up on life after this.

Once her mother died, the building was left for a while, but Sanderson had recently decided to rent it out again as an office space. The renter was just about to move in when this fire occurred.

"We need prayers. My mother took over the store because she felt like it was a part of her husband. After it burned down again she gave up on life. Now that it's burned down again, I feel like I'm losing my parents all over again," Sanderson said.

No decisions about the future of the building have been determined, yet.