VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – A blanket of smoke covered the beach Tuesday as crews spent hours fighting the flames of a three-alarm fire in the 2600 block of Atlantic Avenue at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.
Once the fire started, it quickly made its way through all three businesses, including the T-Shirt Factory, King of the Sea Seafood, and Maple Tree Pancake House. All three businesses have been declared a total loss.
Virginia Beach Fire Investigator Jim Ingledue told 10 On Your Side officials do not know yet where the fire began.
First responders blocked off five blocks along Atlantic and Pacific Avenues, keeping spectators at a distance, and crews from multiple units were rotating due to the heat and smoke. More than 75 firefighters responded to the fire.
The Virginia Beach Fire Department said all occupants of the three businesses directly impacted were accounted for and unharmed.
One firefighter suffered a burn injury and was taken to a local hospital.
The first unit was dispatched to the fire at 5:16 p.m., and the first unit arrived at 5:21 p.m., according to VBFD. The fire was marked under control at 9:05 p.m. and marked out at 10:45 p.m.
WAVY was back at the scene Wednesday morning and so were firefighters, visibly working to put out hot spots.
“There’s lots of hot spots and void spaces that we just can’t reach,” Virginia Beach Fire Chief Kenneth Pravetz said. “And the structure, the roofline has collapsed, so it’s created lots of spots where there’s fire hidden underneath. We’re bringing in some heavy equipment to help dig that out so we can get all the fire out.”
The origin and cause of the fire are under investigation.
“Obviously, the heat was a factor for us,” said Pravetz. “Our firefighters were getting exhausted. When we started, the sun was right down on everybody, so between the heat of the fire and the heat of the outside, we knew we needed some extra crews. We’ve been fighting this fire ever since.”
Donna Morales was staying directly behind the blaze at Costa Azul Suites. Her hotel quickly evacuated.
“As we were going down the steps, the smoke was getting thicker and thicker,” said Morales, who had eaten at the Maple Tree Pancake House only hours earlier. “I’m just hoping they can get it under control.
Another family staying at the Costa Azul Suites told 10 On Your Side’s Lauryn Moss they had been soaking up the sun on the sand when they saw the smoke and tried to go back to their hotel. That’s when they realized everyone had been evacuated.
Now, they have no clue where they are going next.
Some had tried to get away from the smoke with wet towels to their face.
Reino Lindross and his wife have owned the breakfast shop for 42 years. They were working on employee payroll at home when they got a call saying they needed to head back to the restaurant.
“When we got the telephone call that the building was on fire, it was a shock to us,” the wife said. “We saw the smoke from Laskin Road, so we knew that it was bad.”
The couple is heartbroken.
“Complete loss, complete loss,” Reino Lindross said.
A cook at the Pancake House, Marcus Jordan Sr., told 10 On Your Side’s KaMaria Braye that this fire is something that’s hard to process.
“A hard process cause like I said I been here for working 30-something years. Coming to work, I was ready to come to work this morning to do my job. As long as everybody’s safe that’s a good thing.”
According to the City of Virginia Beach, land records show that the building dates back to 1945 and is owned by Matt Vakos of the Vakos family, which has owned business at the Oceanfront for generations.
Initially, 25th Street at Atlantic Avenue was closed and people were asked to avoid the area. The closure was extended to Pacific and Atlantic avenues from 25th to 28th streets. Officials say those streets will remain closed until crews are able to secure the area.
Chopper 10 flew over the scene of the fire, showing smoke blowing away from the beach.
A video from a nearby hotel guest shows parts of the roof collapsing as firefighters try to put out the flames. In another video, there is a large flame flare.
As part of the Virginia Beach Fire Department’s mutual aid agreements, units from Chesapeake, Norfolk and Navy Region were called to backfill stations that were sent to the Atlantic Avenue fire.
Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the fire.
Check with WAVY.com for updates.