Fire destroys Orange County commercial building

Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Former restaurant goes up in flames
A fire consumed a vacant restaurant now used as a warehouse off US 70.

ORANGE COUNTY, NC (WTVD) -- Firefighters battled a massive fire at a vacant seafood restaurant Wednesday off Groucho Road in Orange County.

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The fire started about 1 p.m. in the back of the building, which is just off of US 70.

The warehouse used to be an old seafood restaurant but later became a storage space to sell appliances.

For most of the afternoon, firefighters had a tough time getting to fire because of the smoke.

"I've heard of fires in the winter but this is pretty incredible," said Marlene Slieter, a neighbor. "It's been going forever. When I first moved to Durham in 2000 it was still a restaurant and shortly after that, no more. And it's just been sitting here."

Raw video: Drone 11 over Orange County fire.

The owner of the building discovered the fire and called 911, according to ABC11's Tim Pulliam.

Firefighters said the stoves and refrigerators packed inside the building fueled the blaze.

Firefighters battle massive blaze in Orange County

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. The fire marshal and the SBI are being called to investigate.

No injuries have been reported.