Pocono News Section

Fire Strikes Pocono Shopping Center

Fire Strikes Pocono Shopping Center - Monday, April 20, 2009 at 2:23PM EST

Reported by: Laurie Monteforte
Monday, Apr 20, 2009 @ 02:23pm EST
TOBYHANNA, MONROE COUNTY - Fire put one store out of business and damaged several others in the Poconos. The flames started in the Carriage Square Shopping Center Sunday night at about nine. No one was hurt, but a lot of business owners may suffer.

At first glance you might not even notice there was a fire her in Carriage Square but as soon as you get close, you notice the smell. "It smells very smoky," said Joe Remollino a Rent A Center account manager. When he learned part of the plaza caught fire Sunday night, he rushed to the store. He said, "I'm like Oh my God - I'm not going to have a job tomorrow morning."

Remollino's job turned out to be safe. Flames didn't touch the rental store but smoke seeped into everything. Now managers must have all the furniture cleaned. The Rite Aid Pharmacy will also have to air out smoke. Shopper Nina Mckinny said, "It reeks of smoke really bad. And I have bronchitis so I was trying to hurry up and shop and get out."

While smoke was the biggest problem for most of the stores, Bobby's Caribbean Food Market had a lot of fire damage. The flames likely started there. Regular customer Eugene Samolewicz said it's, "Definitely a loss to the community because it's a small business man. It's indeed what the country was built on and what we need more of."

Other shops worry they will lose some of the foot traffic Bobby's brought to the area. Remollino said, "All the small businesses are brining in traffic which brings us customers."

While is may take several days to get rid of the smoky smell, it could take several months to make up for the business that went up in smoke.

Investigators are still trying to figure out what started the fire. They haven't determined whether or not it is suspicious.