SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Carts Unlimited, and the apartment that was above it, is now rubble following an overnight fire that tore through the North Main Street business.

Two people, a mother and her 10-year-old son, who lived in an apartment above the business, were displaced as a result of the fire, which caused that area of North Main Street to stay closed for more than 17 hours from the time the fire started around 10:15 p.m. Monday until 3:40 p.m. Tuesday.

The owner and his associates had no comment on what happened as they dug through what was left of business Carts Unlimited.

Just after 10 Monday night, North Main Street Suffolk lit up, and Carts Unlimited went up in flames.

“It took minutes to respond,” said Suffolk Fire Chief Mike Barakey. “We found this building behind me heavily involved in fire on one side of the building, fire through the roof, heavy smoke coming across the street.”

The chief was also able to identify what was likely spreading the fire so quickly.

“Inside the building are tires, batteries, hazardous materials and we are working to contain that right now,” Barakey said. “We put the fire out and stop[ped] it from collapsing on anyone.”

There was a mother and her son living on the second floor. They were able to get out, and a search of the building found no one else inside.

The Carts Unlimited sign reads ‘Custom built golf carts and low speed vehicles.’ They sell motorcycles, ATVs and scooters.

A nearby resident, Paul Thanos, was at the scene a little after 10:15 p.m. Monday night.

“We heard a massive number of sirens, alarms, and knew there was something serious going on,” Thanos said.

Hundreds of cars had to turn around during the day. To get to a McDonald’s a third of a mile up North Main Street, you had to go 6.2 miles around and drive about 15 extra minutes.

“Immediately, the smoke was continuing at this time in the morning,” Thanos said. “It is pretty shocking, and you also smell, even as I was leaving, you could smell something was burning.”

Robert Burnette works at the nearby Auto Zone, but said there wasn’t a lot of business Tuesday, as it was in the barricaded area of North Main Street.

“It’s a shame,” Burnette said of the fire. “You see people over there all the time enjoying themselves riding these motorcycles, go-carts and everyone likes it, and you know you are going to have fun. Now it’s gone, now it is just a pile of rubble. The fire department just tore it down. It was unstable.”

Burnette added: “We had quite a bit of ash up in the parking lot I think earlier. It looked like the fire wanted to start again in the building, it was smoking a little heavier. I think that’s why Suffolk Fire tore it down.”

Firefighters were on it for a long period of time until they had to get out themselves.

“In that period of time, conditions changed rapidly,” Barakey said. “Fire started going over our head. We evacuated the building and are now in a defensive operation.”

Angela Ireland was let through the barricade on North Main Street to take her car to get an inspection at Suffolk Automotive Center.

“They tore it down, but it is very saddening because it is somebody’s business,” Ireland said. “That is what they work hard for their whole life to get this company up and running, and all of a sudden it goes down in shambles like this. It’s a shame.”

Arcane Tattoo was another business affected by the portion of North Main Street being blocked during the day Tuesday.

“We did have one client this morning,” said Josh Howell of Arcane Tattoo. “We had to come out and see if they would let them through so we can get our work done.”

The investigation is ongoing into the cause.

Suffolk firefighters spent hours battling the two-alarm fire that displaced two people at the Carts Unlimited building in the 700 block of North Main Street.

Suffolk Fire & Rescue were at the scene after being dispatched to it at 10:04 p.m. Monday, with heavy fire coming from the roof.

According to officials, Carts Unlimited had an apartment building on the second floor. Two residents were inside of the building at the time of the fire, but were able to exit the building safely and call 911.

Suffolk Engine 1 and Medic 1 arrived at 10:07 p.m. and found heavy fire and smoke showing from the building, with fire visible from the roof and heavy smoke showing from the interior, according to Barakey.

He said that, after a coordinated interior attack of the fire to look for anyone believed to be inside the building, command gave an evacuation order at 10:51 p.m., and, as of just after midnight, defensive operations continued, Barakey said.

One WAVY 10 viewer captured video of the fire, showing a thick cloud of dark smoke spilling out from the top of the building.

The Virginia Department of Emergency Management’s Hazardous Materials Officer and Portsmouth Fire Department Hazardous Material’s Team were able to determine the building did not contain any hazardous materials. The run-off was initially a concern due to fuels, tires and batteries within the building.

There was no reports on injuries to firefighters or anyone else, and the fire was placed under control by 3:43 a.m.

According to officials, North Main Street remained closed from the 1200 block of North Main Street to the intersection of East Constance Road through mid-afternoon Tuesday as firefighters worked to put out hot spots.