Crime & Safety
Overnight Fire Causes $55,000 in Damages to Lake Street Business
Hot Soss Don is site of 'not suspicious' blaze that caused minor damage to neighboring storefronts.
An overnight fire inside caused more than $55,000 in damages to the catering company that operates out of a storefront at 1143 Lake St. in the Park Plaza.
Lt. David Moore of the said business owner Don Mariner reported the fire – which had burned itself out – at 6:18 a.m. Tuesday, right after he arrived at work.
“We went out and verified there was no active fire,” Moore said. “There was extensive smoke and heat damage throughout the business. The damage is estimated at $30,000 for the property and $25,000 for contents.”
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The origin of the fire – which occurred sometime between 5:45 p.m. Monday when Mariner left work and 6 a.m. Tuesday – is not being released at this time.
However, Moore said it is “not suspicious.” The department’s fire investigator is assisting the fire investigators from Mariner’s insurance company.
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“It will affect his business for a while but, hopefully, he’ll get back up and running soon,” Moore said.
Mariner said that’s his intention. By 1:30 p.m. today he had already notified his regular catering customers about the fire and told them he’d be back in business as soon as possible.
Moore said the fire also caused minor smoke damage to the plaza businesses on either side of Hot Soss Don’s storefront.
daycare center has minor smoke damage, he said, while has smoke damage and minor water damage caused by a broken water line in the fire area.
“It’s more odor than anything … and there’s no danger because of the odor. It’s more of a nuisance right now and will be handled by the insurance company’s clean-up contractor,” Moore explained.
C.C. Soliday, owner of CC’s Hot Spot, said this afternoon it’s business as usual at the salon.
“Everything’s still going on here. It’s minimal odor. has already been here and they’re bringing in an air purifier to help with the smell,” Soliday said.
A representative at Kids Kare said the business is open today, and children could be seen playing inside the daycare. The business owner could not be reached for comment.