Fire in Plainview destroys downtown business
PLAINVIEW, TX (KCBD) - Business owners in downtown Plainview are working hard to fix damage sustained from a fire yesterday morning.
According to the Plainview Herald, Nina's Gift shop on East 6th Street was destroyed in the fire.
Plainview Fire Chief Rusty Powers says initial investigations lead them to believe the fire was caused by an electrical issue.
Surrounding businesses say this is a tragic accident, especially happening just days before Christmas.
"We were panicked. We didn't know what was happening or where the fire was," Jacob Masso, owner of Masso's store in Plainview said.
Masso's is a family owned and operated business that has been in downtown Plainview for 52 years.
Jacob Masso says his family has invested their life into the store.
Jacob says, he can't imagine losing his family's entire investment.
Which is sadly the case for Nina Galvan, the owner of Nina's Flowers and Gifts right next door to Masso's.
The fire tore through both interior stories of Nina's shop.
"I feel very sorry for her," Masso said. "That's her whole lifetime business that she had for a long time."
Masso's received smoke damage, and will have a temporary door where firefighters had to knock through to make sure the fire didn't spread.
Jacob says thankfully, no merchandise was damaged.
"I think somebody was watching over us. We were fortunate," he said.
On the other side of Nina's, the law office of Tina Davis-Rincones and her suite mate sustained even more water and smoke damage to the floor and ceiling.
"I don't know how our building survived," she said. "We are very very blessed."
Today, the city of Plainview is launching a new alert system residents can opt into, to keep them aware of any emergency and non emergency situations around the city, including situations like yesterday's fire.
"With this fire, we could have sent out the text or the email and said pleas stay out of this area. We have a significant fire and for your safety please steer clear," Captain Derrick McPherson, Plainview Emergency Management Coordinator said.
Any Plainview resident can sign up for the new alert system in just a few minutes by going to the city of Plainview website and clicking on the banner that says "Plainview Alert System"
