State fire officials are investigating a suspicious fire at an abandoned former tire shop at 106 Vine Street in downtown Poplar Bluff.
Firefighters received a call about the fire about 4:41 a.m. Tuesday, which was brought under control within 45 minutes, Fire Chief Ralph Stucker said.
“It’s a vacant building with no power going to it. So it’s a suspicious fire,’’ he said.
Investigators this morning went to the Prosecuting Attorney’s office around the corner to see if cameras attached to that building would reveal any suspicious activity, Stucker said.
“We had a lot of mop-up and had to get in there to make sure there wasn’t a homeless person in it,’’ the chief said. “We had to make sure that the floor was good.”
The building, owned by Kelly Murphy, has “been vacant for years,’’ Stucker said. He said the building was boarded up except for one door which was found open when firefighters got there.
Tony Chilton, the city’s building inspector, said he condemned the building and he was planning on placing a 10-day emergency order for it to be destroyed.
“Either we’ll make the owners push in the walls, or we’ll do it,” Chilton said.