A fire leveled a warehouse and shut down traffic on U.S. 29 in Campbell County for more than an hour Friday morning.
Fire crews responded to the warehouse used by Greer’s Wholesale, off southbound U.S. 29 near English Tavern Road, around 11:05 a.m.
The warehouse, which sits beside the small store that fronts the highway, was fully involved when fire crews from the Lyn-Dan Heights and Evington volunteer fire departments arrived, said Evington fire chief Alan Maddox.
The flames were extinguished within 20 minutes but the building and its contents were already destroyed, he said.
Greer’s Wholesale sold televisions, appliances, furniture, spices and food items that were overstock items, or would not be sold by major retailers due to damaged packaging.
The warehouse was a simple metal structure that was open inside, Maddox said. At some point in the fire, the roof collapsed and held the heat and flames against the items stored in the warehouse.
No one was inside at the time. Fire investigators are still trying to determine the exact cause of the blaze, said Lyn-Dan fire chief Mike Watson.
Fire crews had to shut down northbound and southbound lanes of U.S. 29 for about an hour because the nearest fire hydrant was across the road, Maddox said. Firefighters had to run their hoses across the highway.
Greer has operated at several locations in the Lynchburg area. In 2008 it operated along with the Anderson Country Market in Madison Heights for some time before opening on U.S. 29.
The business’ owner, Dewey Greer, was unable to discuss the blaze Friday.
Staff writer Bryan Gentry contributed to this report.
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