She found it heartbreaking to see such a loss to happen to a local business like hers. She said she was astonished to see a firefighter engulfed in smoke on the ladder. “It just wasn’t safe enough to keep crews in there,” he said.Ĭarolyn Hessom, one of the owners of Once Upon a Sandwich, saw the fire on her way to work Sunday morning about 7:30 a.m. After initial sweeps firemen went outside. “It doesn’t look suspicious, but the cause remains undetermined at this time,” Vandevoorde said.īalke said fire crews took a defensive approach, in part, because nobody was inside the building. The cause of the fire remains under scrutiny by the department’s arson investigator and Cortez Police Department detectives. “Power was restored before we left the scene,” Vandevoorde said. Power was fully returned by about 12:30 p.m. Officials allowed surrounding business owners in their place of business to remove computers and other pertinent items, Vandevoorde said. While fighting the fire, power was shut off to the entire zero to 100 block of Main Street as a precaution, impacting a half-dozen businesses. “There was some minor smoke damage to adjoining businesses, but they should be back open today.” “We were able to contain the fire to those three businesses,” said Cortez Fire Chief Jeff Vandevoorde on Monday.
No injuries were reported, but Stewart’s Flooring, Cortez Works, and Family Shoes and More were destroyed, said Balke. Some 50 firefighters responded to the scene, including crews from Dolores, Lewis, Mancos and Pleasant View. “Secondary crews came around the back and saw active fire.” “We saw heavy smoke pushing through the roof and through the front of the building,” he explained. Assistant Fire Chief Charles Balke was with one of the first crews to respond.
Within four minutes, firefighters were on scene as flames jumped some 20 feet in the air. An early morning blaze in downtown Cortez on Sunday gutted three businesses and halted eastbound and westbound traffic on Main Street for hours.Įmergency fire crews were dispatched to Stewart’s Floor Covering at 20 East Main St.
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