RICHMOND, Va. — A three-alarm fire ravaged multiple structures along East Main Street in Richmond's Shockoe Bottom Wednesday evening, leaving several local businesses with waterlogged interiors and ash-covered debris.
"It's just devastating, honestly," said Sherwin Pilley, owner of C&P Baking Co.
Pilley heard fire truck sirens and stepped outside to witness the intense blaze.
"It honestly very scary I don't think I've ever seen fire like that. All we saw was just smoke and fire just billowing out into the sky," Pilley said.
The fire tore through apartment units and several neighboring businesses along the East Main Street strip. The flames were so intense that more than 10 fire trucks were called to battle the blaze.
"If you've ever watched like an action movie and you see, like, the big fiery excursions, like, that's what it looked like. It was that loud and big and just abrasive in your face," Pilley said.
The block is home to popular spots including Miyabi Sushi, Daily Menu, Addis Ethiopian and more. Fire officials have yet to confirm which businesses were directly impacted.
"Just all the local businesses that we frequent that we know, the owners just wanted to make sure that they were okay," Pilley said.
The damage from the unexpected fire is now setting back the hard-fought progress many small businesses have made, especially during an already challenging time.
"It's already a tough season for us, with it being summer and everyone on vacation," Pilley said.
The majority of businesses on East Main Street remained without power Wednesday, and the full extent of the damage is still being assessed.
Daily Menu shared that no one was in their restaurant during the fire. They wrote on social media that they are "deeply inspired by the resilience and determination of firefighters in the face of this incident" and that they "will emerge stronger."
While much about this incident is still unfolding, this tight-knit community of business owners is ready to support each other and rebuild.
"Go out to Shockoe bottom support those businesses, all the businesses," Pilley said.
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